Milwaukee Voucher School Principal Charged with Felony Theft

The founder and principal of a Milwaukee voucher school, Mandella School of Science and Math, is being charged with felony theft for cashing more than 200 checks issued by the state Department of Public Instruction for families whose children never enrolled at the school.

According to the criminal complaint filed Thursday (July 1, 2004) in Milwaukee County Circuit Court, David Seppeh stole approximately $330,000 in state funds. He allegedly used a portion of the money to buy two Mercedes-Benz cars.

If convicted, Seppeh faces up to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $25,000.

A Milwaukee judge ordered the school closed in February after evidence of financial mismanagement surfaced, thanks in part to a series of articles published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The newspaper reported Seppeh's mismanagement of the state voucher payments, Mandella teachers' claims that their paychecks were late or never arrived, and that a school bus company claimed the school owed it nearly $100,000. The Journal Sentinel also reported that the state has filed eight tax warrants against Seppeh in the last eight years. A garnishment notice filed this fall claimed he owed $171,000 in taxes.

Mandella is one of several Milwaukee voucher schools that has been in trouble with the law recently. Last year, Alex's Academics of Excellence was evicted for failure to pay rent even though it received $2.8 million from the state. The school's chief executive officer, James Mitchell, a convicted rapist, allegedly mismanaged the school's funds and allowed his employees to use drugs on school grounds.

Another former voucher school official, Adrian Hipp of Exito High School, was found guilty of falsifying records that resulted in state overpayments to the school of $42,000.

"The money that these unaccountable schools are pilfering from the state could be used productively in cash-strapped Milwaukee Public Schools to better educate the city's children," WEAC President Stan Johnson said. "That is money that could be used in a system that is thoroughly monitored and fully accountable for the money it spends. It could be used in our public school system to help create a great school for every child."

Resource page on private school vouchers

Posted July 2, 2004