LAUREL — Former North Elementary School secretary Wade L. Bryan, 40, of Laurel, has been charged with felony theft counts, Delaware State Police said.
Authorities said that, during his employment with the school, Mr. Bryan was responsible for the incoming funds for the its pizza fundraiser and pre-K tuition. When incoming checks from the fundraiser hadn’t cleared parents’ bank accounts, the school’s administration discovered that Mr. Bryan allegedly failed to make any deposits.
In addition, he improperly gave the fundraising company the school district’s bank account information to conduct an automatic withdrawal for the fundraiser, police said.
Once district officials entered the North Elementary safe, they found that all the cash proceeds from the fundraiser were missing and that the checks were never deposited, police said. District officials conducted an internal audit for other financial activity Mr. Bryan was responsible for and discovered he had also taken incoming cash for the pre-K tuition and only deposited incoming checks to the district’s account, police added.
In total, $3,198.50 in cash from the fundraiser and $1,775 from the tuition were stolen, authorities alleged.
Police said Mr. Bryan was charged with two counts of theft over $1,500 (felony) and turned himself in Feb. 14. He was released on his own recognizance.
