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The principal of a North Salt Lake charter high school, one of the state's largest, has resigned after pleading guilty to mishandling federal education money in Pennsylvania.
Dennis Bruno, 59, was director of secondary education at Legacy Preparatory Academy until Thursday. The K-12 school has 876 students, including 409 in grades six through 12.
On May 9, Bruno pleaded guilty in a federal court in Johnstown, Pa., to a charge of federal program theft during his tenure as superintendent of Glendale School District, which serves 848 students in Flinton, Pa. The guilty plea comes one month after James A. Stokes, a former teacher at Legacy, was sentenced to jail and probation for sexual abuse of a 14-year-old female student.
From about October 2005 to July 2006, Bruno "intentionally misapplied" $49,600 from the Fund for the Improvement of Education, a grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Education, according to a statement released by U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton.
On Monday, Bruno said the crime stems from his hiring of a contractor who did not fulfill a promise to connect homes in the rural school district to the Internet.
"I paid the contractor to do the job. He didn't do it. So I plead guilty because I signed the contract," Bruno said. "It taught me a lesson — a very harsh lesson."
In a plea agreement, Bruno also acknowledged that, as Glendale superintendent, he conspired with others to obtain E-Rate Program money in the amount of $414,422. The Federal Communications Commission program subsidizes the cost of Internet access and other telecommunications services for economically disadvantaged schools and libraries.
Bruno faces sentencing on Sept. 22. The law, which governs misuse of federal program funds, allows a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Bruno served as Glendale superintendent for nine years before he was suspended and then resigned in 2008 amid a financial audit, according to a report by the Altoona Mirror in Pennsylvania. He was hired by Legacy to open the charter's secondary program in August 2009.
Bruno said he has turned in his educator certifications in both Pennsylvania and Utah. He resigned from Legacy, he said, because he did not want his legal woes to overshadow the school.
"I knew this would not be a good thing," Bruno said. "My concern was always for the best interest of the students."
Nicki Claeys, a spokeswoman for Legacy Preparatory Academy, said the school has not had any problems with Bruno. She did not know whether Legacy's board was aware that Bruno was being investigated in Pennsylvania when he was hired.
"We appreciate his time in getting the school started," she said. "He has new challenges to face, and we wish him well."