Former Mississippi superintendent pleads guilty to falsifying attendance records

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A former school superintendent in Mississippi plead guilty Wednesday to falsifying records.

This after Bill Brand was indicted and arrested in August of 2021 for false representations to defraud the government.

Brand falsified student attendance records in the Alcorn Consolidated School District for October and November of 2020.

Brand used a school district employee’s student management account without their knowledge to falsify the records to the Mississippi Department of Education.

The falsification of records was an attempt to increase the funding provided by the state to the school district, State Auditor Shad White said.

“As we have seen this week at Jackson Public Schools and other school districts around the state, falsifying education data like test scores or attendance records is harmful and wrong,” said Auditor White. “Bad, fraudulent data misleads the public about the state of our schools. If attendance records are falsified, it costs the taxpayers money. It’s important for students to actually be in schools and learning, not be a mirage on a false attendance record.”

Brand was prosecuted by District Attorney John Weddle and his sentencing order has been filed with the Alcorn County Circuit Clerk’s office for public inspection.

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