Thousands in fundraising money never reached Silver Creek High School baseball team, audit finds

SELLERSBURG, Ind. (WDRB) -- Money raised to help the Silver Creek High School baseball team went missing, and now police are investigating.

The details of the investigation are outlined in a 12-page document. It said money from three different fundraisers never went to the baseball team or its players.

People in Sellersburg rallied around the Silver Creek High School baseball team on its way to winning the 2023 state championship. Head coach and teacher Joseph Decker retired after the season ended.

In the summer of 2023, school officials and employees grew concerned after reviewing transactions in the baseball ECA (extracurricular activity) fund.

Here’s a breakdown of the noncompliance found by the Indiana State Board of Accounts after examining records from Jan. 1, 2021, to Dec. 31, 2023.

Baseball fundraisers

The team raised nearly $36,000 to help pay for a spring break trip, equipment, and supplies.

But an investigation by SBOA found that $9,201 was never deposited into the account between 2022 and 2023.

The fundraising company said players could receive a cash prize for raising funds above a certain threshold. A total of $1,718.50 was supposed to be divided among the players.

"It's extremely disappointing. People donate money to help the kids, and it sounds like maybe some adults benefited from that," Sellersburg resident John Colburn said.

The fundraising company stated they gave the cash in individual envelopes for Joseph Decker to distribute.

But players and parents said no cash prizes were given out in 2023.

"They won the state title that year, but at what cost?" Colburn said.

Stephanie Decker, the wife of Joseph Decker, told police he turned the player cash prizes into the ECA Treasurer, but no receipt was found in the ECA records.

The ECA Treasurer also stated she didn't receive the player cash prize funds from Joseph Decker.

Baseball concessions

Baseball concession operations from 2021, 2022, and 2023 were also reviewed in the audit.

Items for sale were purchased by Stephanie Decker and reimbursed by the baseball ECA fund. Revenue from sales was deposited into the fund.

However, the audit found that in 2021, five receipts totaling $962.95 were submitted twice and reimbursed twice to Stephanie Decker.

In 2022, the baseball and softball teams were in charge of managing their own concessions.

Items for sale, totaling $3,286.76, were purchased for the baseball concession stand and reimbursed to Joseph Decker by the ECA fund — but no revenue from the stand was deposited back into the fund.

The audit also notes $291.97 in receipts were reimbursed for items like pool shock and alcohol, which are not considered appropriate concession stand purchases.

Baseball and softball bat purchases

The investigation also looked into equipment bought with the baseball ECA fund from 2021 to 2023.

Several bats — including two softball bats — and baseball bat grips were purchased with the baseball ECA fund. While baseball bats would be a legitimate expense, the audit found those bats couldn’t be located within the school corporation.

The softball bats were not considered a legitimate use of the baseball fund.

The total cost for these items was $2,902.97.

Baseball T-shirts

T-shirts were sold by the program when the team won sectionals, regionals, and the state championship in 2023.

They were purchased through Joseph and Stephanie Decker via online payments. The audit found no money collected from the sales was deposited into the baseball ECA fund, yet the T-shirt invoices were paid from it.

The shirts cost $18 each to make and were advertised for $22 on social media. The audit estimates $4,224 should have been deposited into the fund.

Joseph Decker told officials he didn’t realize the school corporation wasn’t collecting the money for the T-shirts and agreed it shouldn’t have paid for them.

On Dec. 15, 2023, he reimbursed the ECA fund $3,203.22 — which was $252.78 less than an invoice previously paid.

Internal control findings:

Internal controls weren't in place to ensure fundraisers were approved by the School Board and funds were properly handled and deposited.

Internal controls weren't in place to ensure there was a system of accountability, and that the items purchased and sold for the baseball concession stand were properly deposited.

Internal controls weren't in place to ensure items purchased from the baseball ECA fund were properly accounted for and for baseball purposes.

In a statement School Board President Chris Roundtree told WDRB News, "The school district followed state statute and notified The State Board of Accounts to open an investigation when the district found the questionable spending and lack of matching deposits."

Superintendent Dr. Chad Briggs released a statement saying in part, "Silver Creek continues to fully cooperate with law enforcement in its ongoing investigation and is also reviewing this as a personnel matter."

Indiana State Police are investigating and once that's complete, the information will be turned over to the Clark County prosecutor to decide if charges should be filed.

Joseph Decker did not return a request for comment.

The full report can be viewed below:

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