News Story 2

As a result of being charged with theft, PTA treasurer Mary Burns is awaiting the prosecution of criminal charges filed by the PTA.

“We had a good idea she was taking money from the organization,” PTA finance officer Jeanette Lumpkin said.

The PTA discovered $2,000 missing last fall and believed someone stole from the organization. When the school planned to take the junior class to see Macbeth, there was no longer enough money in the account.

“I know that we had planned for two weeks to go to the theatre to see Macbeth , and at the last minute it was cancelled,” Junior James Grigsby said. “We were pretty disappointed because we had been studying the book for almost a month.”

Students and teachers dealt with the news as well as possible. Doing their best to quell rumors, they spoke about about it as best they could.

“We’ve done a lot to quell the rumors, but we’ve tried to be as honest about it to the students without being negative towards those directly involved,” Junior English teacher Marilyn Lenk said. “It’s better for the kids to know what has happened rather than allowing undocumented gossip to spread and possibly some wrong conclusions made because we didn’t communicate.”

Burns is partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. Her health was becoming a problem and did not have the means to pay for medical treatment.

“I know that Mary has been having some health problems, but that doesn’t give her the right to take money that doesn’t belong to her,” Lumpkin said.

Last month, auditors found a $14,000 discrepancy. Burns is being charged with theft of between $1,500 and $20,000. If Burns is found guilty, she faces a maximum of 10 years in jail and/or a $150,000 fine.

“We would certainly prosecute if we found a school employee who was taking activity funds,” Superintendent of school Curtis King said. “We would hope the PTAs do the same.”

According to Sydney Long, the PTA president, the PTA feared that filing charges against Burns would tear the organization apart. But in turn, it brought them together. They had the support of the students and teachers.

“This indictment is a signal that parents who support school activities in the district intend to take strong action against theft in the future. You just have to be very vigilant,” King says.

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