Head teacher ‘spent school funds on art and furniture’

A HEAD teacher spent thousands of pounds of school money on art, designer goods and furniture while her staff were denied pay rises and had to buy classroom supplies, a court heard.

Michelle Hollingsworth, 55, and her secretary, Deborah Jones, 57, siphoned cash from Annie Lennard Primary in Smethwick, West Mids, for around five years by using the school’s cheques and bogus purchase orders, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

It is alleged they were the only two staff at the school with authority to input and authorise payments and with access rights to the finance system between June 2009 and October 2015.

Mark Jackson, prosecuting for Sandwell Council, said the pair, who left the school in 2015, travelled hundreds of miles to exclusive boutiques.

Mrs Hollingsworth spent more than £2,000 of the school’s money on two oil paintings, said Mr Jackson, adding: “When questioned she seemed to say that she bought them for the school but kept them at her home.”

“All the time they were using the school’s cheques to purchase a wide range of goods, none of which were suitable for primary schoolchildren”.

A number of other defendants are accused of being part of the alleged fraud or of making over-inflated or fraudulent invoices for work which never took place at the school.

Mrs Hollingsworth told her staff in the spring of 2015 that the school had no money because it had been short changed by the local authority, it was claimed.

Staff had to buy basic materials for pupils with their own money and a pay rise was rejected to try to help balance the books, alleged Mr Jackson.

Jones, of Cradley Heath has pleaded guilty to conspiring with the headteacher but denied all alleged frauds involving other people, the jury heard.

Hollingsworth denies all the charges against her.

The trial continues.