A former bookkeeper at Sequatchie County Middle School was indicted recently for allegedly taking more than $18,000 from the school over a two-year period.
Rebecca Daughtrey, 55, a former bookkeeper and food service worker at the school, was charged with theft over $10,000 and booked at the Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office on April 15, according to the Tennessee Comptroller's Office.
Comptroller's investigators said Daughtrey is accused of taking "at least $18,322 from the school between July 1, 2010, and June 30, 2012," a release from the Tennessee Comptroller's office states.
The state agency conducted a special investigation leading up to the report issued on Thursday. Comptroller's office spokesman John Dunn said the announcement was issued Thursday after Daughtrey's charges resulted in an indictment handed down during the September session of the grand jury.
Daughtrey has been free on bond since the day of her arrest, Sequatchie County Sheriff's Office spokesman Jay Harvey said. She faces a date in Sequatchie County Criminal Court Oct. 20.
Comptroller investigators say Daughtrey stole school fundraiser collections and failed to deposit ticket money from at least six athletic events. She kept the cash for her own benefit. It is possible that more money was stolen, but investigators believe Daughtrey discarded or destroyed records, state officials said.
"Schools are especially vulnerable to fraud, waste and abuse when one person receives and deposits all the money collected," Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said. "At the very least, an administrator should review the monthly bank statements. Unfortunately, Sequatchie County Middle School did not have these basic controls in place."
Sequatchie County Director of Schools Pete Swafford said Thursday that bookkeeping "irregularities" were discovered by school officials in 2012 and Daughtrey was terminated over the matter then. Officials asked for a comptroller's review, Swafford said.
Since then, school employees have undergone several training sessions on bookkeeping practices and plan more in the future "to make sure something like this does not happen again," Swafford said.
Contact staff writer Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.