Clinton, Iowa Teacher Accused Of Offering Students Extra Credit If They Donate To Her Personal GoFundMe

A Clinton teacher is under scrutiny after she allegedly offered extra credit in exchange for donations.

Stephanie Mullaley was a paraeducator that began working for Clinton High School in 2022 as a full-time, long-term substitute teacher.

She was let go by the Clinton Community School District for allegedly violating the district's ethics policy.

In the spring 2026 semester, she told her students that they could get extra credit in exchange for donations to her GoFundMe account that she had set up to help pay for her education.

The records show that the GoFundMe, as Mullaley put it, was to help pay for "a unique opportunity to travel to Ecuador" and that she would be "interpreting for a medical mission team (and) helping bridge language barriers so that care and compassion can reach those who need it most" and that her husband would also be "assisting the team in any way he can".

She said the donations to the GoFundMe would go towards "transportation, including flights, buses, and boats, food and hotel accommodations".

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She was caught after students did donate to the GoFundMe and, as Administrative Law Judge Duane Golden put it, "using her position as a teacher to pressure students to donate funds".

The GoFundMe's goal was $1,800 and it got up to $140 over the course of 6 donations (ranging from $5 to $50) before activity on it was paused.

Her request for unemployment benefits after she was let go was denied. It was due to misconduct and "willful or wanton disregard" for her employer's interest.