CFO of Muncie Community Schools quits

MUNCIE – Chip Mehaffey, who discovered the loss of nearly $20,000 in athletic ticket collections at Central High School, is quitting his position as chief financial officer at Muncie Community Schools after only six months.

The Washington Times Herald reported on Wednesday that Mehaffey was hired Tuesday night as principal at Loogootee High School. Loogootee is a city with a population of 2,751 people southeast of Bedford.

The newspaper quoted Loogootee Superintendent Joan Keller as saying Mehaffey was chosen from among 22 applicants and quoted Mehaffey as saying, "I'm excited to get back into a position where I get around teachers and kids every day. My wife and I are thrilled to be here."

Mehaffey, MCS Supt. Tim Heller and school board President Tony Costello did not return phone calls from The Star Press Wednesday afternoon. A search is already under way for a new superintendent to replace Heller, who announced earlier he would be retire June 30.

"It's going to put Muncie Community Schools in a bind at this point in time, changing business directors twice in just a few months," said Pat Kennedy, president of Muncie Teachers Association. "If he got on the job and found that isn't something he wanted to do for a number of years, it's probably good that he goes to something he does want to do. Business director is a job he had not done before."

Mehaffey sent The Star Press an email Wednesday night stating that as CFO "I have struggled to find satisfaction and joy in the job. As a teacher, coach and athletic director, I consistently found opportunities to work with kids and adults where I believed I was making a difference ... I have missed being with kids in the culture of a school."

Two years ago, Mehaffey was named athletic director at Central after spending 14 years as coach of the boys basketball team at Winchester Community High School, where he also taught.

He took over as CFO at Muncie Schools this year after the retirement of longtime CFO Mark Burkhart six months ago.

"He did some job shadowing six months before that," Kennedy noted.

She called the CFO position "a complex and time-consuming job that is so critical to this corporation."

Kennedy learned Wednesday night from The Star Press that Mehaffey was leaving.

"It does kind of surprise me," she said. "I can't imagine leaving in the middle of the school year, but people think differently nowadays. It's not my experience to leave in the middle of the year. I wish him well. Muncie is going to have to get on the ball to find someone who is able to do the job and wants to come in and do a very complex job. We have some pretty severe financial challenges."

In August 2012, Mehaffey told The Star Press that after his coaching career ended his next career goal was to become a school administrator.

Heller disclosed this past summer that it was Mehaffey who, while serving as Central's AD, had discovered suspected wrongdoing by Central athletic secretary Angela Mock that led to her firing and a special State Board of Accounts audit. Mehaffey holds a bachelor's degree in math and a master's in physical education/athletic administration.

The audit found $18,081 in unaccounted-for tickets and $1,390 in collections from all sport passes not deposited.

The Indiana attorney general has demanded that Mock reimburse the school's treasury $19,471 in diverted/misappropriated/unaccounted for ticket sales. She has denied any wrongdoing.

State examiners have identified "material weaknesses" in internal controls over financial reporting and spending of federal grants at cash-strapped MCS dating back to at least a decade ago.

Contact Seth Slabaugh at (765) 213-5834.