MERRILL − A former Merrill Area Public Schools director of buildings and grounds is facing a felony charge related to charging more than $1,500 to school credit cards.
Dale L. Bergman, 55, of Athens, faces a charge of misconduct in office. He’s scheduled to make the initial appearance on the charge Oct. 1.
According to the criminal complaint, in April 2024, a woman reported hearing through a school board meeting that Bergman had stolen $1,500 from the school. She said another version of the story was Bergman had used the money to make a purchase for his home.
The woman said she became aware of the theft and of Bergman’s resignation from his position at the school at the Feb. 27, 2024, Merrill School Board meeting, according to the complaint.
The detective who talked to the first woman talked to a second woman who said Bergman’s air conditioner stopped working in 2019 or 2020 and Bergman did not have cash to have it fixed because of his gambling, according to the complaint. The woman said a standalone air conditioner arrived at Bergman’s residence.
The woman said Bergman admitted to her that he had used the Merrill Area Public Schools’ credit card to make the purchase of the air conditioning unit, according to the complaint. The woman said Bergman would order other things for his home through a work vendor with the Merrill Area Public Schools’ credit card.
The woman said Bergman would have the items he bought shipped to Merrill Area Public Schools and then would bring the boxes home, according to the complaint. The woman said there were always boxes in Bergman’s garage that he had brought home. She said she knew a school-owned leaf blower was in Bergman’s garage.
The woman told the detective Bergman used the school district’s plow truck to plow his own driveway, the driveway of a family member and the parking lot of a local business, according to the complaint. The woman said Bergman also used the school credit card to buy a set of tools for himself.
The detective talked with the school superintendent and got the documentation for the air conditioner purchase. The cost was $1,544, according to the complaint. There also was a photocopy of a check written by Bergman and a copy of Bergman’s resignation dated Feb. 5, 2024, according to the complaint.
Another person at the school said Bergman had a $999 generator that belonged to the school at his home, according to the complaint.
The detective talked to Bergman on March 5, 2025, and March 7, 2025. Bergman said anything he used the school district accounts for he had paid back. Bergman admitted he didn’t pay taxes on the items.
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @KMadden715, Instagram @kmadden715 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Wausau Daily Herald: Former Merrill Area Public Schools buildings and grounds director charged with misconduct
Reporting by Karen Madden, Wausau Daily Herald / Wausau Daily Herald
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
