Spencer Lodree resigned as the principal of Fernandina Beach High school after he admitted to stealing $1,300 from the sale of tickets to a basketball game in January.
Superintendent of Nassau County Schools, Kathy Burns, said she is saddened to learn of the events that lead to his resignation.
A release stated that on January 29 two school employees noticed that there was a discrepancy in the number of tickets sold and the amount of money that they had collected for a basketball game. They reported to the Student Resource Officer who attempted to interview Lodree, but could not that day because Lodree had taken sick leave for the second-half of the week.
When he was confronted on February 5, he admitted to taking the money and resigned.
Prior to that time, the Superintendent and administrators of the Nassau County School District had no reason to suspect that Dr. Lodree would take money from the school. All educators in the Nassau County School District must undergo a rigorous background screening that includes a criminal record search before they are hired. After that, if an educator in the Nassau County School District gets arrested, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement notifies the school district about the arrest. There were no red flags in Dr. Lodree’s background, and there were no warning signs in his behavior.
The district recovered the money from Lodree's last paycheck and has reported his actions to the Florida Department of Education's Office of Professional Practices. He will not be facing any criminal charges.
