News

Actions

Former Bay Port High dance coach accused of stealing from team

Posted at 10:20 PM, May 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-24 23:20:19-04

A former dance coach at Bay Port High School is facing felony charges. Court documents say money went missing after dance team fundraisers.

A former dance team parent told a brown county she and other parents initially got worried when Brittany Rowell told team parents the team needed money after several successful fundraisers. 

After a deputy helped review the team’s accounts, they found nearly $7,000 missing.

The money went missing between November 2015 and January 2017. 

In a written and signed statement to a deputy, Rowell admitted to stealing some of the money.

According to a criminal complaint, she says she took nearly $3,000 from a car wash fundraiser to pay off her car payments, credit cards and more. 

She says she had recently gone through a divorce and was having money issues. 

She went on to say that she's sorry she didn't set a better example for her girls to follow.

Rowell is scheduled to make her first court appearance on June 15. 

If convicted, she could spend more than 8 years behind bars and faces a fine of $40,000.