SHAKOPEE, Minn. — The superintendent for the Shakopee school district who has found himself in serious trouble with his district and the law, is expected to resign Monday.
According to the Star Tribune, Dr. Rod Thompson is expected to resign Monday after he used his work purchasing card (P-Card) to buy personal items online.
Shakopee Valley News, which first broke the story, notes that Thompson spent almost $5,000 in electronics and other items using his district-issued card to purchase items like a MacBook, Bose speakers, a Kindle, and other various items on Amazon.
Amanda McKnight writes when Thompson discovered the purchases, he reimbursed the district $3,500 for the purchases. However, police officers had to issue a warrant for his home to recover the computer, a TV, the Bose Speaker and other various items according to Shakopee Valley News.
The initial investigation into Thompson began after a citizen-led watchdog group raised questions as to why the district was in a deficit, while calling for his resignation.
As reported by Alpha News in March, Thompson told employees that a human error led to a $4.5 million deficit.
At the time, Thompson classified the error as, “a series of inaccurate budgeting assumptions, omissions, and errors,” as reported by Fox 9.
The watchdog group, Concerned Citizens of Shakopee, created a petition also calling for the resignations of the entire school board:
“We are alarmed and have a lack of trust in the actions of the School Board which have impacted the learning environment of the students in the Shakopee ISD 720. Failure to acknowledge or to act on the unethical and possible wrongdoings of the District’s Superintendent, Dr. Rod Thompson…An overwhelming majority of the community believe the School Board are fiscally incompetent, non-communicative, ineffective, and cannot perform their duties as elected officials overseeing Shakopee ISD 720.”
There is no indication as to whether Thompson will face any criminal charges.
Preya Samsundar
Preya Samsundar was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. She graduated from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities this Spring with a B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, with a minor in Strategic Communications. Preya has previously worked on several State Campaign Races.
