Former Glenwood City Superintendent Appears in Court for Theft

Former Glenwood City School District Superintendent Timothy Johnson appeared in court on Thursday facing charges for forgery and theft.

The 52 year old Johnson was charged with 17 felony counts in October, including laundering money, uttering a forgery, and misconduct in office by producing fraudulent records. Johnson was accused of taking $290,792 of funds from his time with the district.

According to court records, over $200,000 of that funding was meant for Johnson to take courses at Viterbo University which he never took. A forensic accounting report found that Johnson has received $125,000 in educational stipends which he authorized himself and over $75,000 in reimbursements for the classes. Johnson was also accused of mishandling nearly $350,000 for school district investments with a former district accountant.

Johnson joined the school district in 2003 as a middle and high school principal. He was promoted to Superintendent in 2014 and remained in that role until his resignation in 2023.

After leaving the Glenwood City School District, Johnson became the Human Resources Executive for the Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District. He submitted his resignation from that position in January after the investigation into his past conduct began. Chippewa Falls District officials say they conducted an internal audit following Johnson’s resignation, which did not find any inappropriate expenditures or misused funds.

St. Croix County Court Judge Scott Nordstrand released Johnson on a signature bond during the preliminary hearing on Thursday. Further conferences have been scheduled for December 26th and January 16th, but no trial date has been set.