The state Ethics Commission found probable cause that Polk County School Board member Lori Cunningham violated standards when a company she owns sold mandated school uniforms at two charter schools within the Lake Wales Charter Schools system.
The commission also found there was no probable cause that her company sold uniforms to a district school, a Jan. 31 press release from the commission stated.
Cunningham, who has served on the School Board for about 20 years, owns and runs a company founded in 2011 called Applied Images Inc. It sews logos onto uniforms and other apparel for a variety of organizations, commission documents show.
Her attorney, Robin Gibson, who is also general counsel for Lake Wales Charter Schools and a Lake Wales city commissioner, called the case against Cunningham an “unintentional mistake,” in an prepared statement sent via email to a Ledger reporter.
“Charter schools are not well understood by a lot of folks and I believe the Order finding probable cause is an unintentional mistake,” Gibson said.