Local and state prosecutors say no criminal charges will be filed over the case of improper disbursements to current and former staff of the Mason City Community School District.
A special investigative report released last December by the State Auditor’s Office showed over $2.2 million was not properly disbursed to 66 school district employees during an eight-year period between July 2009 and August 2017. Then-State Auditor Mary Mosiman said former superintendent Anita Micich approved the improper disbursements without school board approval.
Cerro Gordo County Attorney Carlyle Dalen says his office with the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa Attorney General’s Office conducted a review to see if criminal charges would be appropriate in the case. The Attorney General’s Area Prosecution Division independently reviewed the case and determined that there was insufficient evidence to support any criminal charges.
Dalen says the decision not to prosecute is purely a review for criminal violations and has no impact on civil remedies that may be available to the school district.
(By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City)