An Iowa substitute teacher was fired for offering students extra credit to donate to her personal GoFundMe campaign, which she used to fund a trip to Ecuador.
Stephanie Mullaley was dismissed from the Clinton Community School District on May 29 for breaching the district’s ethics policy, according to state records. The state administrative law judge denied her unemployment benefits, concluding that students were pressured to donate in exchange for extra credit.
Iowa Capital Dispatch initially reported the case, but the outlet could not get comments from Mullaley.
According to state records, Mullaley has worked for the district as a paraeducator since 2022 and later became a full-time substitute at Clinton High School.
Mullaley told her students about her personal educational plans during the past year, as the judge found out. In the spring, she told them about creating the GoFundMe account for her education purposes, adding that they could earn extra credit in her class if they donated to the account.
Online records show that a Stephanie Mullaley from Clinton created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for her trip to Ecuador in July with her husband. She would work as an interpreter for a medical mission team that helps patients and their caregivers overcome the language barrier. Her husband would help the team in another capacity.
They needed funds to pay for flights, buses, boats, food, and accommodation. They aimed to raise $1,800, with $140 collected from six donations ranging from $5 to $50. The activity on the account was stopped, and the published reports do not indicate whether the trip took place.
Some students indeed decided to donate to receive extra credit, according to the judge. Investigators found that Mullaley misused her position as a teacher by pressuring students to donate money, and the district dismissed her for breaching its ethics policy.
According to the regulations for licensed educators that the state Board of Educational Examiners develops, teachers do not exploit their relationship with the students for their own benefit. No information indicates whether the board has taken any action against Mullaley.
The Administrative Law Judge, Duane Golden, recently held the unemployment benefits hearing. He ruled that Mullaley’s actions involved misconduct, which made her ineligible for unemployment benefits.
Golden found out that Mullaley offered her students extra credit toward their grade if they donated money to her personal account.
“Students felt pressured to donate money to her personal GoFundMe page,” Golden wrote.
Under Iowa law, workers fired for misconduct are ineligible for unemployment benefits. Misconduct means a willful and wanton violation of a worker’s duties to the employer. Golden ruled that Mullaley’s actions constitute misconduct.
