Columbus – An administrative assistant pocketed $32,393 that she was supposed to deposit into the Westside Community School of the Arts’ (Cuyahoga County) bank account, according to an audit released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

Using special audit procedures, auditors examined 6,235 payments collected from students during the period July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2015. The review found 375 payments totaling $32,393 that were directly attributed to Administrative Assistant Raebecca White. During an interview with auditors, she admitted to committing theft. 

“It’s not often we see someone stealing money paid by students for field trips and dress-down days,” Auditor Yost said. “I hope we never see it again.”

White was responsible for billing, collecting, processing and depositing student material fees for the school. She was the initial point of contact for students and parents making payments to the school office for all student activity collections, and she received money collected by teachers for field trips, dress-down days and fundraisers. 

A finding for recovery in the amount of $32,393 was issued against White. She was terminated from employment on March 26, 2015 for reasons unrelated to the theft.

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 5,800 state and local government agencies.  Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.

Contact:
Ben Marrison
Director of Communications
614-644-1111