Melody Day, the superintendent of the Chickamauga City School System, has reportedly pleaded no contest Friday to a charge she tried to bilk a department store in a price-tag swap scheme, according to The Chattanooga Times Free Press.
According to the paper, the alleged incident occurred at a Belk department store in Hamilton County.
“Day was ordered to pay the store $525.50 in restitution as part of her misdemeanor conviction for theft of property,” according to the paper.
“She also was ordered to stay out of any Belk store and to go to counseling. If she follows all of those orders, Judge Gary Starnes told her, Day’s record could be expunged in a year.”
Day would only reportedly tell The Times Free Press that she did as her attorney advised, and she said nothing else.
“According to an affidavit, a Belk employee at the Hamilton Place mall store told Chattanooga police she saw Day walk into a fitting room with several clothing items. Some were on sale. Some were not,” the paper reported.
“The employee said Day swapped price tags, paying a discounted rate for items that had been full price. In all, the employee said, Day engineered a $300 discount.”
Day has reportedly served as superintendent since 2000, according to The Times Free Press.
The paper said Day “would continue to run the district while her charge was pending.”
As of Friday, Day still had a message for parents and students on the Chickamauga City School System’s website.
“The Chickamauga City School System is dedicated to continuous improvement in all aspects, and two over-arching goals guide the work: Higher student achievement; and more efficient and effective operations,” Day wrote.
“A balanced scorecard, which provides an overview of current and historical performance, has been developed for each school and the system. This information is accessible through our website.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Melody Day” by Chickamauga City School System.
She should be terminated immediately so that the kids learn there are consequences for bad behavior.