Knoxville, TN (WOKI) An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office finds the Bearden High School Football Booster Club wrongfully paid coaches thousands of dollars in bonuses.

A report released by the Comptroller’s office says coaches were paid at least $60,000 without Knox County Schools’ (KCS) approval and
that the booster club was classifying the payments as “salary supplements.”

It’s Knox County Schools’ policy that all coaches are paid through the school district. This, to avoid problems with benefits and tax reporting.

The investigation also found that the booster club had wrongly charged players hundreds of dollars in fees then placed the funds in the club’s account instead of the school’s account.

“SSOs must not charge fees to students to participate in school sponsored activities or events” the Comptroller’s report said.

The report also said the club bought things like food, gift cards and supplies, then did not document the purchases correctly.

“Investigators could not determine whether these purchases were used exclusively for the benefit of the football team,” the report said. “The club should only make authorized disbursements for the benefit of the football team and maintain adequate supporting documentation for all disbursements.”

For its part, club members say they intend to correct the issues moving forward, according to the report.