CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A former Montgomery Central Middle School coach has been indicted on charges that he misappropriated fundraising collections.
David Lemont Bryant, who was a boys’ basketball coach and assistant teacher at Montgomery Central Middle School, pocketed fundraising collections totaling $988 between September and October 2022, according to an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office. These funds were collected for a basketball gear fundraiser and a T-shirt fundraiser held to benefit the boys’ basketball team.
The investigation was initiated after school officials reported allegations to the Comptroller’s Office.
Bryant was placed on administrative leave from MCMS effective Nov. 3, 2022, after MCMS staff began reviewing fundraising collections. Bryant was fired effective Nov. 10, 2022. MCMS Principal Lisa Courson sent the following to families after Bryant’s Termination:
“Coach Bryant is no longer employed at MCMS. I want to be open and transparent that the District has investigated suspicions of fraud and neglect of appropriate fundraising practices and funds for our basketball program. The Business Affairs Department and/or the state Comptroller’s Office may be contacting some of our families regarding the investigation. I know our students are awaiting warmup suits and bags that were purchased, and please know the school and District are working to resolve this as soon as possible. I do not have any additional details at this time, but I want to reiterate that we are focused on consistency for your student and the program and we will remain focused on a great season for our team.”
Last month, the Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted Bryant on one count of theft of property under $1,000.
“School officials should ensure staff maintain collection logs and issue receipts when accepting payments,” said Comptroller of the Treasury Jason Mumpower. “It’s also important to follow policy and state law requiring deposit within three days of receipt, and to ensure all fundraisers are properly approved before they begin.”
CMCSS spokesman Anthony Johnson said the school system has policies and procedures in place for fundraising/other resale activities and collecting funds that Bryant neglected to follow.
According to the Comptroller’s report, Bryant failed to complete a collection log for payments received from parents and students for the T-shirt fundraiser and the basketball gear fundraiser; Bryant failed to issue receipts to parents and students for cash collections for the fundraisers; Bryant failed to remit funds to the MCMS bookkeeper for deposit as required by CMCSS procedures; Bryant did not submit a fundraiser approval form until at least six days after first collecting funds for the event; and Bryant failed to submit a corrected approval form once the fundraiser changed from an online event to a pre-sale until after he collected the funds.
“CMCSS will continue to train employees on Business Affairs policies and procedures and ensure school officials have strong oversight over all fundraising activities occurring within their schools,” Johnson said.