Teacher fired after offering extra credit to students if they donated to fund her trip
A substitute teacher has been fired after allegedly asking her students to donate to her GoFundMe for her 'personal educational goals' in exchange for extra credit.
Stephanie Mullaley was working as a full-time, long-term substitute teacher at Clinton Community School District in Iowa, when she was accused of pressuring high school students to help fund a trip to Ecuador with her husband.
On May 29 of this year, the teacher was fired from the school for allegedly violating the district's ethics policy.
It's claimed Mullaley spoke to her students about what she described as her 'personal educational goals', while informing them she had set up a GoFundMe page to help raise some cash to pay for her education.
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She is then said to have told students they could earn some extra credit towards their grade if they donated.
Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden told the Iowa Capital Dispatch: "[Mullaley] promised high school students in her class that they would receive extra credit toward their grade in her class if they donated to her GoFundMe account.
"Students felt pressured to donate money to her personal GoFundMe page."
In the now-deleted GoFundMe post, Mullaley said she had her husband had been offered 'a unique opportunity to travel to Ecuador', revealing she would be 'interpreting for a medical mission team (and) helping bridge language barriers so that care and compassion can reach those who need it most'.
The post added that her husband would be 'assisting the team in any way he can'.
Any money raised in the fund would go towards 'transportation including flights, buses and boats, food and hotel accommodations,' according to the post.
Sharing the fundraiser on Facebook, Mullaley further explained: "Nick and I are embarking on a journey this summer with a medical mission group. This was only a thought a year ago, and it became real when we got an official invitation end of 2025.
"Feels like a blessing to have an opportunity to serve a community in need of medical service and utilize my skills and serve. God put this in place for us, and we’re answering it. Hope to have your support, and if you can’t financially, we understand and just keep us in your prayers."
Mullaley had reportedly set a goal of fundraising $1,800, but by the time the page was taken down, she had only raised a total of $140, made up of six different donations ranging from $5 to $50.
Some of the donations are believed to have come from students who felt pressured into doing so.
Judge Golden uncovered the former teacher's actions during a hearing after Mullaley applied for unemployment benefits, which were denied after he discovered the allegations of her having pushed her students into donating money.
The judge stated that she had shown a 'wilful or wanton regard' for her employer's interests, which legally makes her ineligible for unemployment benefits in the state of Iowa.
Emma Rosemurgey