The veteran principal of a top-performing Florida charter school resigned Tuesday night, according to sources, after transmitting $100,000 in school funds to an online con artist posing as billionaire Elon Musk.
According to Jan McGee, who has been the head of Burns Science and Technology Charter School since its inception in 2011, a person claiming to be the tech magnate offered to donate millions of dollars to the popular STEM school in exchange for an upfront payment.
According to WESH, when the plan was ultimately revealed to the school’s sceptic business manager, she was able to stop the transaction before the funds were cleared.
In the meantime, parents and board members were outraged by the situation and claimed McGee was irresponsible with crucial school finances.
Here are some additional recent Florida developments:
Several witnesses at the Tuesday evening hearing emphasised that McGee’s coworkers warned her that she was being duped, but she persisted on transferring the payment anyway.
Here is a tweet about this subject:
The principal of a charter school in central Florida resigned this week after saying she wrote a $100,000 check out of the school’s account to an internet scammer posing as Elon Musk. https://t.co/5WrkTsEqdW
— NBC4 Washington (@nbcwashington) April 1, 2023
After angry board members threatened to quit and stated they could no longer work for her, McGee resigned immediately and exited the school building to applause from the audience.
“I adore this school above all others. At the Volusia County gathering, McGee declared, “I’m turning in my resignation if it means your administration will remain in place”.
Before authorizing the cheque, McGee already revealed that she had communicated with the fictitious Elon for months.
According to WESH, the rural school in Oak Hill has a waiting list of more than 1,000 children.