Teacher says she made an OnlyFans for extra money. Missouri school puts her on leave
A high school teacher in Missouri says she has been placed on administrative leave after her OnlyFans account was discovered, according to news reports.
Brianna Coppage, a 28-year-old teacher at St. Clair High School, believes the discovery of her adult content page will lead to her firing. Her OnlyFans — a subscription service where people can pay for original photos and video that are often sexual in nature — was created as a way to make more money, she told news outlets.
“(The district says) they haven’t made a decision yet, but I’m just kind of putting the pieces together that I am not coming back,” Coppage told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “I’m very aware that I am probably never going to teach again, but that was kind of the risk I knew I was taking.”
Dr. Kyle Kruse, the superintendent of St. Clair R-XIII School District, said in a statement to McClatchy News the district “was recently notified that an employee may have posted inappropriate media on one or more internet sites.”
“The district has engaged legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive investigation of this matter,” said Kruse, who did not name Coppage. “Details regarding specific personnel cannot be discussed at this time.”
The St. Clair school, about 50 miles southwest of St. Louis, announced in August 2022 that Coppage had been hired as a communication arts teacher.
But her pay — just over $42,000 during the 2022-23 school year — led her to pursue OnlyFans as a way to supplement her income, she told The Missourian.
Missouri state law requires teachers to be paid a minimum salary of $25,000, according to the Missouri National Education Association. The average salary, the association said, was $53,512 in 2022.
However, the average starting salary for a teacher in Missouri — $34,052 — is the second-lowest in the United States, the National Education Association said. The state also has the 47th worst average teacher salary in the country.
Coppage’s OnlyFans account has led to thousands of dollars of extra income each month, she told The Missourian.
“I don’t feel shame, because I think that’s the first thing that people are trying to do, and that’s kind of the first thing that people jump to in these kinds of situations,” Coppage said, according to The Missourian. “I’m sad. I do miss my students. I had some really good connections.”
Coppage said her OnlyFans account was her “completely, separate personal life outside of teaching,” the Post-Dispatch reported.
“I taught the curriculum. I taught students reading and writing, and I didn’t guide them on my thoughts or beliefs,” she said. “And I can’t control what people think of me. I just know that who I am as a person, I’m not doing anything illegal. I am a good friend. I am a good family member. That is all I can think about right now.”
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