Teacher may lose job after stealing from backpack
Dwyer educator said he needed cash to buy gas
A crisis-intervention teacher at William T. Dwyer High School stands to lose his job Wednesday after he admitted to taking a total of $60 from a student’s backpack because he had run out of gas and didn’t have his wallet with him.
Matthew Csoka, 51, told school police that he unlocked the boy’s locker room three separate times and took $20 in cash from a student’s backpack while the students were in gym class. Csoka said he took the money because he was too “ashamed” to ask a school administrator for money.
The incidents occurred in September and October 2022 during Csoka’s first three months working at the Palm Beach Gardens school.
The student, whose name is redacted from the report because he is a minor, suspected someone was stealing money from his backpack during class. He set up his phone to record the area around his backpack in the locker room after the students went into gym class.
When he returned, the student discovered that Csoka had searched his backpack and took cash from his wallet. He showed the video to his gym teacher and later to school investigators.
On Wednesday, the school board will vote on whether to fire Csoka. Superintendent Mike Burke has recommended it.
Csoka was hired by the school district in 2008, according to his personnel records. He worked at Palm Beach Gardens High and Jupiter High as a gym teacher before moving to Dwyer in 2022.
Csoka had little disciplinary history with the district before the thefts. In 2014, he was reprimanded in writing for failing to report a criminal traffic offense to his supervisor after he was charged with driving without a license.
School district records show Csoka was being paid between $62,000 and $70,000 for his job as a crisis-intervention teacher, where he was tasked with supporting students with behavioral problems and at times, checking students’ bags for weapons or drugs.
After the student filmed Csoka