IOWA TEACHER FIRED AFTER $140 GOFUNDME EXTRA CREDIT PITCH

An Iowa substitute teacher was fired after she allegedly offered students extra credit for donating cash to her personal GoFundMe. The Stephanie Mullaley GoFundMe pulled in just $140 from six donations.

Mullaley was a full-time, long-term substitute in the Clinton Community School District. The district fired her on May 29, 2026. Yahoo News reported the district said the fundraiser breached its ethics policy.

Mullaley reportedly told students about the GoFundMe, which she set up for what she described as her “personal education goals,” PEOPLE reported.

She also reportedly offered extra credit to students who donated cash.

Where the money was headed

The fundraiser had a goal of $1,800. It was not for a school activity.

The page described a planned trip to Ecuador with Mullaley’s husband in July 2026. The trip was a medical mission, and Mullaley was reportedly set to serve as an interpreter for the team.

The page called it “a unique opportunity to travel to Ecuador,” The Independent reported. Donations would reportedly help cover flights, buses and boats, along with food and hotel stays.

The page was later deleted, WKRC reported.

What happened next

Mullaley applied for unemployment benefits, and Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden reviewed her claim. It was not a criminal proceeding. Iowa law makes workers fired for misconduct ineligible for benefits.

Golden found that some students donated. The judge also wrote that “students felt pressured to donate money to her personal GoFundMe page.”

The judge found Mullaley had shown a “willful or wanton disregard” for the district’s interests, the New York Post reported.

The findings said the district discovered she was “using her position as a teacher to pressure students to donate funds.”

In September 2026, Golden denied Mullaley unemployment benefits, finding her conduct amounted to job-related misconduct.