Lincoln Memorial Academy and its Principal Facing Federal Investigation

PALMETTO – Lincoln Memorial Academy, a charter school that has been taken over by the Manatee School District during its first year, is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General for possible embezzlement, mail fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud connected to the school and its former principal Ed Hundley, who had his educator's certificate revoked by the state in May.

A DOE investigator recently requested financial records connected to the school from the district, along with other information on Hundley and the school’s former chief financial officer, Cornelle Maxfield.

The investigator requested the school's charter application, a list of its board members, personnel files for Hundley and Maxfield, an accounting of federal, state and local funds received by the school, bank records, and any other relevant information the district felt would assist in the investigation.

The school district issued a statement saying that it would "cooperate fully with the federal government and their investigation."

The school district took over the administration of the school and removed Hundley as its principal last week, after revealing that it was in financial distress, including a budget deficit of more than $250,000 as of May 31, and a subject of concern for the state department of education and Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, who said he would intervene if the district did not create an acceptable corrective action plan.

Hundley resigned in July, calling the revocation of his license judicial overreach, while accusing the district of not dispersing Title 1 funds owed to the school in a timely manner, negatively impacting the school's finances, a charge the district vigorously denied. Hundley came under additional fire when the school district revealed that his salary nearly doubled to more than $200,000 a year when the school converted from a district institution to a charter.

District officials said they would continue to operate the school, which converted to a charter after the 2018-19 school year, as a charter institution.

Hundley got into trouble for twice recommending a former employee for positions in Sarasota County, while knowing that the employee was under investigation for allegations that he had sexually abused a student in Manatee County. Hundley was the Lincoln Middle School principal when a music teacher was accused of touching students on at least two occasions dating back to 2016.

The teacher, Quentin Peterson, was arrested this April on felony charges of possession of child pornography. He was working as a math teacher for Booker High at the time. On his application to Sarasota Schools, Peterson cited "family problems" as his reason for leaving Manatee.

Hundley knew of the two investigations, calling the state's abuse hotline at one point to report the teacher after a foster mother turned over a journal of one student alleging he had touched her inappropriately, but still recommended Peterson for the positions in Sarasota County after he resigned from Manatee while still under investigation by the Palmetto Police department and the Manatee County School District.

In his references, Hundley checked "no" on a box that asked whether he had any reason to believe Peterson should not work with children, prompting the Sarasota School District to later file a complaint with the Florida Department of Education.

In total, Peterson, 25, had been accused of having illegal interactions with minors on three occasions in the past, though he was ultimately arrested for a previously unknown incident, the evidence for which was found after police seized his personal electronics.

The first incident occurred in 2012 when Peterson was a 19-year-old student at the University of Florida. A 16-year-old girl accused him of touching her under her clothing while the two were alone in a sound booth at Palmetto High School, despite her objections. According to the police report, Peterson admitted to the accusations and apologized to the girl during a recorded phone call, then confirmed the accusations in interviews with police officers. Prosecutors, however, decided not to file the battery charge recommended by police.

Though the student in the journal incident at Lincoln later told police she'd made the story up when questioned, a second Lincoln student accused Peterson of touching her thigh while they were alone in his office last school year. The girl left the room immediately and reported the incident. Authorities later seized his laptop and two phones last June.

Last August, Manatee Schools placed Peterson on paid administrative leave after investigators found several nude photos of a different underage girl on his phone, along with text messages and a picture of the two kissing in bed. Peterson then resigned from the district and applied to work as a teacher in Sarasota later the same month.

Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said that Hundley knew about the images and that his department was pushing for criminal charges. An email from the district's attorney to Hundley also notes the severity of the accusations and that police had enough probable cause to seize Peterson's electronics. Hundley made his first recommendation for a substitute position in Sarasota 10 days after Peterson’s official resignation from Manatee, followed by a second recommendation this February for the math teacher position at Booker.

Having a revoked educator's license prevented Hundley from being employed at a public school "in any capacity requiring direct contact with students," effectively ending his tenure as the school's principal.