Wikipedia only traces this kind of scam back to the late 1700's. I'd bet that it was old back when Rome was still a one-horse town.

> Dr. Jan McGee worked at the Burns Science and Technology Charter school, a STEM charter school ...

- so plausibly the school is a tiny organization, lacking any central administration, Finance Dept., or other controls.

Combined with the "I am a very smart lady..." that you noted - yeah, I smell the stupid old "I have a PhD, so I must always be right" conceit. The article's "toxic work environment" bit might be taken to confirm this.

It would be nice if Vice had called her hard on "grooming". If she can't use that word correctly, she really isn't qualified to be a principal.