Columbus – A former guidance counselor, indicted for theft in office, owes $998 to Garaway Local School District, state auditors found.  

The school’s financial audit, released today by Auditor of State Keith Faber, issues a finding for recovery against Felix Calzada, ordering him to repay the money he stole from the school when collecting reimbursements as part of a “textbook buyback” program.

“Pocketing dollars meant for Ohio’s children is an erroneous breach of trust,” Auditor Faber said. “I recommend the school district develop more stringent guidelines to prevent them from falling prey to any further theft.”

Over the course of one year, Calzada collected cash reimbursements for used textbooks from both Stark State College and Kent State University. Investigators from the Auditor’s office reviewed documents from both colleges and the school district. They found that both Stark State and Kent State paid out a total of $998 to the school district. Calzada collected the cash but never deposited that money in the district’s account.

A grand jury indicted Calzada for theft in office on Oct. 26, 2018. He has since pled guilty and entered into a diversion program. If he completes the requirements of the program by April 2, 2019, the case will be finalized.

A full copy of this report is available online.

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The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio is responsible for auditing more than 6,000 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Keith Faber, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies, and promotes transparency in government. 

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