Audit finds Manhattan coach withheld $20K

BELGRADE (AP) — An outside audit found the Manhattan High School football coach failed to deposit into school activity accounts more than $22,000 his players brought in through fundraisers over the past two years.

The Belgrade News reports (http://bit.ly/1997LLZ ) a Bozeman accounting firm found Dale McQueary withheld just over $10,000 from the extracurricular account in 2012 and just over $12,000 this year. School officials say he spent the money on equipment and meals for football players, bypassing school approval required for spending.

The audit was presented to the school board on Dec. 10.

The total withheld over the past two years is more than double an initial estimate that McQueary withheld $8,400 over three years.

The school suspended McQueary from coaching in September, but a judge ordered him reinstated for the final game of the season.