East St. Louis teacher says student stole her wallet, used credit card and district is trying to sweep it under the rug
EAST ST LOUIS, Ill. (First Alert 4) - A middle school teacher in the East St. Louis School District says a student stole her wallet and hundreds in charges were later racked up on her credit cards. She says she is concerned the district might be trying to sweep the incident under the rug.
Tammy Huggins teaches at Mason Clark Middle School. She says a 13-year-old student stole her wallet earlier in March. On March 21, she says she started receiving texts from her credit card company about several purchases.
“I saw there was a $220 charge for Shein and immediately, I went to check my purse. I was like ‘oh, Shein. I know who did this,” she said.
She says her suspicions were confirmed after several students told her that their classmate bragged about stealing her wallet and several Shein and Doordash purchases.
“The principal said, ‘The family wants to make you whole. She wants to apologize,’ and he gave me the one credit card,” Huggins said.
It is an apology Huggins refuses to accept. She says she has not received her credit card, wallet, nor the $200 she had inside. Huggins adds she believes the district’s istration wants her to just let it go. something she says she won’t be able to do.
“I’m a teacher. I live paycheck-to-paycheck, and $200 to a principal, Maybe is nothing but $200. It is the difference between me buying the sticker for my car and not buying the sticker for my car and he just blew it off,” she says.
Huggins says she has filed a police report and hopes the student and her parents will be held able.
The East St. Louis School District sent First Alert 4 the following statement about the incident, saying:
“We take all reports of lost or missing property seriously and address them in accordance with our policies and procedures. Our priority is to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and staff. While we cannot comment on specific situations, we remain committed to fostering a culture of integrity and responsibility within our schools.”
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