A teacher who failed to repay more than £28,000 of loans to parents and colleagues at her school has been banned from the profession.
Susan Pletnick, 56, who was a special educational needs co-ordinator (Senco) at a primary school, borrowed money for a variety of reasons – including flights to South Africa, private healthcare, visa applications and a house deposit.
Mrs Pletnick had “abused her role” as a teacher and Senco by borrowing money from parents of pupils at Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School in Salford, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel concluded.
In February 2018, parents of a pupil agreed to lend Mrs Pletnick money to enable her to travel to South Africa and they initially transferred her £5,000 – which she said she would repay.
But Mrs Pletnick then said her flights had been cancelled and she needed more money to travel so the parents lent a further £4,440, the panel heard.
Pic: Susan Pletnick, Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School, Salford
Another time in 2018, the teacher told them she needed to pay £12,800 in connection with a visa application otherwise she would have to return to South Africa, so the parents lent her the full amount.
The parents said Mrs Pletnick made “false promises” and she did not repay any of the £22,740 she owed – and they added that lending the money has “had devastating financial consequences” for them, the tribunal was told.
Another parent of a pupil lent Mrs Pletnick £1,500 during her employment at the school after she said she had been unwell and needed money to have an operation privately – and the loan was not repaid, the panel heard.
Mrs Pletnick, who worked at Broughton Jewish Cassel Fox Primary School between April 2013 and April 2019, also borrowed around £4,000 from a colleague which was not repaid.
Mrs Pletnick informed her colleague that she was moving but did not have money to pay for a deposit and her colleague offered to help her.
In 2016, the school also lent Mrs Pletnick thousands of pounds from the school’s charity account to support her expenses in staying within the country, and around £4,000 remained outstanding, the panel heard.
Mrs Pletnick said she had no money and was “desperate” and this led her to ask people for help and accept money from people when it was offered.
The tribunal concluded that the conduct of Mrs Pletnick “fell significantly short of the standards expected” and banned her from the teaching profession with a review period of three years.
Ruling on behalf of the Education Secretary, Sarah Buxcey said: “The findings of misconduct are serious as they include a finding of obtaining money from the school, parents and colleagues, failing to repay, conduct that amounted to an abuse of her role as a teacher and Senco and conduct that lacked integrity and was dishonest.”
