An Illinois teacher claims she had her credit card stolen by a student — and now she’s working to get the money back.
Tammy Huggins, a teacher at Mason Clark Middle School in East St. Louis, Illinois, told KMOV-TV that she believed one of her 13-year-old students had stolen her credit card in early March after receiving a notification from her credit card company about several purchases made.
“I saw there was a $220 charge for [online fashion retailer] Shein, and immediately, I went to check my purse. I was like, ‘Oh, Shein. I know who did this,‘ ” Huggins recalled.
She told the outlet that other students said that one of their classmates had been bragging about stealing her wallet to make several Shein and DoorDash purchases.
“The principal [Renaldo Jackson] said, ‘The family wants to…apologize,’ and he gave me the one credit card,” Huggins told KMOV-TV. “But nobody gave me my $200, nobody made an offer.”
Huggins went on to note to the outlet that she was still missing her wallet, her license, and the rest of her credit cards, as well as the initial $220 spent. She also shared that she had filed a police report in the hopes of getting the missing items back.
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She told KMOV-TV that she was pushing for the school to help her retrieve the stolen items but was disappointed by the administration’s reaction to the situation.
“I’m a teacher. I live paycheck-to-paycheck…and [the principal] just blew it off,” Huggins said.
The East St. Louis School District told parents in a letter obtained by KMOV-TV that the school had launched an investigation into the theft and initially identified a suspect, but there was no evidence to confirm the student’s involvement at the time.
On March 24, the parents of the student came forward to “disclose their child’s involvement,” and the student received disciplinary action “aligned with the Code of Conduct.” The school administration noted that the student’s parents also offered full financial restitution and items and the student wrote an apology, per the outlet.
PEOPLE reached out to the East St. Louis School District for comment on the incident but did not immediately hear back.
The school also told KMOV-TV in a statement: “We take all reports of lost or missing property seriously and address them in accordance with our policies and procedures.”
“Our priority is to maintain a safe and respectful learning environment for all students and staff. While we cannot comment on specific situations, we remain committed to fostering a culture of integrity and responsibility within our schools,” they concluded their statement.
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