State investigators allege a former Des Moines Public Schools horticulture teacher improperly spent nearly $20,000, including paying his wife more than $18,000.
Craig Nelson, who was responsible for the schools’ Central Campus greenhouse, an annual plant sale and a student trip, had worked for the district from August 2017 until he was terminated by the Des Moines School Board April 6 of this year.
In May 2020, the school district’s human resources department contacted its in-house internal auditor with concerns of misappropriation of funds within the greenhouse and allowing a plant sale outside of the greenhouse, a State Auditor s report released Tuesday said. Officials later contacted the Iowa State Auditor s office.