“Aside from the numerous conflicts of interest that Mr. Schroer chose not to disclose, it’s just an extraordinarily sad day when someone that is responsible for educating students in our community is accused of stealing funds intended for those same students,” Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said Monday.
A Warren County grand jury indicted Schroer, 52, of Germantown, on five counts of tampering with records, two counts of theft in office, two counts of filing a false disclosure statement and six counts of representation by public official or employer. The tampering with records and theft charges are felonies and the filing a false disclosure statement and representation by public official or employer are misdemeanors, according to a grand jury report.
In October 2019, the Ohio Auditor of State opened an investigation into Schroer after an accounting firm for the school district reported inconsistencies with sick leave, vacation days and mileage reimbursements Schroer submitted, according to Fornshell.
The investigation found Schroer falsified records 16 times. Using cell phone tower data, credit card and ATM records and other evidence, investigators determined Schroer was reimbursed $1,291.66 for travel that either didn’t happen or was not related to the district.
Investigators also referred Schroer to the Ohio Ethics Commission after finding other financial irregularities. Ohio Ethics Commission investigators found that Schroer solicited and received $4,500 in personal loans from three employees he was considering for administrative positions for the district, according to Fornshell.
He reportedly received $3,500 in personal loans from three vendors, Helping Others Prepare for Excellence (HOPE), Strategos Group and CF Educational Solutions, who were doing or wanted to do business with the school district.
Schroer is also accused of soliciting and receiving $6,800 in cash from board of education members Dave Stuckey and Charles Anderson.
Anderson told the Dayton Daily News that the discrepancies were reported to the appropriate people by the school board. As for the loans, Anderson said he and Stuckey loaned the money to Schroer because he was having problems selling his home and other properties from his previous job in northern Ohio.
“We both offered to help him move here because we wanted to see him get off on the right foot here,” Anderson said. “He paid us both back.”
Stuckey, who has been affiliated with the district for 40 years and is currently a volunteer freshman football coach, had no comment when contacted by the Dayton Daily News.
Both Anderson and Stuckey are running for re-election as Springboro school board members.
Superintendents are required to disclose finances, including any loans of more than $1,000, to the Ohio Ethics Commission, according to Fornshell.
Schroer is scheduled to be arraigned in Warren County Common Pleas court on Aug. 20.
He resigned from Springboro Community City Schools in 2019 after reaching a $115,000 separation agreement with the district. The agreement came two weeks after he was placed on leave.
Springboro Schools issued a statement acknowledging the indictment of Schroer and said he “is no longer employed by Springboro Schools, as the Board accepted his resignation on Aug. 30, 2019, following an internal investigation, in order to avoid the cost of litigation.
The statement also said it will continue to cooperate in full with the county prosecutor’s office “as necessary and required in order to protect the financial interests of the district and its community members.”
About the Authors
