The former chief academic officer at Iowa Lakes Community College has filed a lawsuit alleging she was fired for being the whistleblower who prompted an investigation of the school’s finances.
Erin Latona began working at Iowa Lakes Community College in the fall of 2022. The Des Moines Register has posted her legal petition online. It indicates Latona noticed financial irregularities at the school almost immediately. In mid-2023, she contacted the FBI and federal officials referred her concerns to the State Auditor’s Office for an investigation.
According to the lawsuit, others at the school figured out Latona was the whistleblower and she was fired this past February. The lawsuit alleges Iowa Lakes Community College inflated student enrollment to get more state aid and either mismanaged or misappropriated college grants to high school students. The lawsuit claims Latona was illegally fired in retaliation for the “difficult” but “necessary” decision to blow the whistle on misuse of taxpayer dollars.
Iowa Lakes Community College is based in Estherville and has campuses in Algona, Emmetsburg, Spencer, and Spirit Lake. The school’s president provided a statement to the Des Moines Register. “The college has been advised not to comment on any details of pending litigation but looks forward to defending the claims and feels confident in its defense,” he told the paper.
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