–A former administrator at Iowa Lakes Community College has filed a lawsuit against the school alleging she was fired for reporting financial concerns to federal authorities.
The Des Moines Register reported the lawsuit Monday, which was filed in Emmet County District Court last month. In the suit, former Iowa Lakes Chief Academic Officer Erin Latona alleges she noticed financial irregularities at the school shortly after she began working there in 2022.
In mid-2023, Latona contacted the FBI, and federal officials referred her concerns to the State Auditor’s Office for an investigation. In the lawsuit, Latona claims others at the school figured out she 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.
Latona is seeking financial compensation for lost wages and emotional distress and has asked for a jury trial.
