Yekaterinburg teacher borrows from parents, then resigns

In Yekaterinburg, a young primary school teacher borrowed money from parents and then resigned from the school. This happened in the Ural Hogwarts — school No. 314 in Pionersky District.

The victims plan to file a report with the police and have not lost hope of getting their money back. We tell what is known about the incident.

We changed the names of the individuals in the publication at their request.

Out of Pity, They Lent Money

The young teacher started working at the school at the beginning of the school year. According to parents, she first asked for a loan in mid-September. For example, E1.RU reader Anastasia transferred her eight thousand rubles (approximately $80 at current rates).

«We were supposed to meet, and the day before she called me and said: ‘I can’t make it, I have a problem, my phone was stolen, I have no money.’ I asked if I could help her with anything. The teacher replied that she would be glad and asked to borrow 7000 rubles (about $70),» E1.RU Anastasia said.

«If I had known that she had already borrowed from someone else, I wouldn’t have lent her money,» Anastasia continued. «Then she needed to go somewhere else, she asked for a thousand rubles (about $10), and I transferred it again.»

The teacher never returned the money, so Anastasia simply stopped communicating with her.

«She told me that she had a difficult life situation, supposedly she was out of town and urgently needed money. She promised to pay back in two days, but a month has passed,» shared Svetlana, another student«s mother. «Now she started paying back in installments: she borrowed 7000 rubles (about $70), of which she has only returned 1500 rubles (about $15).»

Organized Paid Lessons That Never Happened

To other parents, the teacher promised to organize paid additional lessons, but conducted only one lesson, although she took money in advance for several hours.

«She tutored my child in Russian for a fee (she suggested it herself) and asked to send the money in advance, as she was broke,» E1.RU another mother, Irina, said. «I sent 2000 rubles (about $20) for four lessons. The teacher barely conducted one lesson: there were always some excuses, like she broke a nail or had to go somewhere.»

Irina was lucky — the teacher returned her 1500 rubles (about $15) for three lessons that didn«t happen. Other parents are still waiting for their money.

«I paid her to tutor my child after school. She asked me for the same amount as everyone else. For some reason, that»s her standard price — 7000 rubles (about $70),» shared with E1.RU Yevgenia, another victim. «I thought, I«ll pay for two months in advance and forget about it. In the end, the teacher conducted one lesson, returned only 2000 rubles (about $20), and wrote a promissory note with dates when she would pay back the rest.»

Where»s the Money?

The mother of one of the students in the class does manicures. Even this service the teacher asked to provide on credit. The teacher each time gave a new reason for her financial situation.

«Once she borrowed from another mother for medicine, writing that she had a cold,» Irina said. «That same evening, she was accidentally seen in a nightclub. To me, she complained that her brand new iPhone was stolen and she urgently needed 7000 rubles (about $70), asking with the condition that she would return it from her salary, but I refused.»

Parents suspect that with the collected money, the teacher bought herself a new phone.

The victims appealed to the school principal Elena Belova. She promised to have a talk with the teacher. As a result, the parents agreed to give the teacher another chance, but she, according to them, started asking for money again without repaying previous debts.

In the end, the teacher wrote a resignation letter of her own volition, her last day of work at the school was November 20.

Yekaterinburg lawyer Andrei Saunin recommended that parents file a joint report with the police, as the teacher«s actions may show signs of fraud. Correspondence with the teacher will help prove that she asked for money and did not return it.

You can also file a lawsuit in court, but first write a statement and send it to the teacher, clarifying that you are forced to take extreme measures since you did not receive your funds on time.

The press service of the Yekaterinburg administration confirmed to E1.RU the information about the incident:

«When these facts were clarified, the teacher promised to return the funds, and at this time she has written a resignation letter of her own volition,» the mayor«s office responded.

The Conflict Was Not About Debts at All

The teacher herself explained to E1.RU that as soon as she started working at the school, she was given a class with the most difficult parents. With one of the mothers, the teacher had a personal conflict — initially it was not related to additional lessons and payment for them.

«A parent asked me to tutor the child, I agreed. After talking with the principal, I found out that you can»t charge for lessons at school, the entire amount was returned. There are no debts to anyone now,» the teacher told E1.RU. «That child was expelled from the school, I no longer teach him. Moreover, I am leaving the school myself. In two months, I realized that I no longer want to work here, my health is more important to me.»

«In the education sector, I most likely will not work anymore. This was my most painful experience,» the teacher added.

The teacher emphasized again that she returned the funds to everyone, and the conflict has long been resolved. However, the parents themselves have not yet confirmed that they received the money back.

Previously in Yekaterinburg, hackers hacked a teacher«s phone: parents believed messages from a fraudster and transferred money, and he just laughed at them in response.

A similar story happened in the Ural village of Ayat. There, the school principal forced teachers to take out huge loans and give her the money. The teachers, left in debt, are sure that their former leader has a gaming addiction.

However, fraudsters also deceive children — we reported how a schoolgirl from Yekaterinburg transferred over one million rubles (about $10,000) to a «school nurse».