A new report finds San Diego public school officials are raiding the coffers of student groups at various San Diego Unified campuses.
The San Diego County Grand Jury investigated two dozen San Diego schools with Associated Student Body groups.
They found officials at more than half of those campuses collectively spent about $170,000 of student money on their own purposes
Students raise that money to pay for events that benefit all kids at their campus including school dances, festivals and assemblies.
Instead, the money was used for equipment and supplies. In one case, the funds went toward a staff Christmas party, staff mugs and polo shirts.
Victoria Stubblefield is foreperson with the San Diego County Grand Jury. She says the findings suggest this is a district-wide problem.
“At one school (officials used) $35,000 dollars. At another it was $16,000. This is just a a sampling of ASB accounts. So it is potentially a large sum of money that is being misused,” Stubbleman said.
The report states there is about $8.5 million in Associated Student funds in San Diego Unified.
The San Diego County Grand Jury wants the district to strengthen internal controls and require training for all school employees.
