Former Santa Rosa County School District Administrator Kelly Short arrested for grand theft
A seven-month Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation has resulted in the arrest of former Santa Rosa County School District administrator Kelly Short, who is accused of stealing just under $3,500 from a fund she was given access to as treasurer of the Santa Rosa County Association of School Administration.
Short was taken into custody Monday on a single third-degree felony charge of theft of less than $5,000.
The investigation began Aug. 14, 2024 after the School District presented the results of an independent financial audit of the SRCASA's account, a news release from FDLE said. Short's responsibilities as the SRCASA treasurer included collecting members' dues, purchasing awards and gifts, writing checks for payments and reimbursements, and maintaining the annual SRCASA account reports.
"Short wrote eight checks to herself from the SRCASA account and she added the SRCASA bank account to her personal Venmo to divert monies from the business account to her personal bank account," the release said.
An affidavit summarizing the FDLE investigation established that the Venmo account had been created in July of 2022 and $750 paid into it by school district employees were transferred and deposited into Short's personal account.
Investigators said that between March 25 of 2020 and Dec. 11 of 2023, Short reimbursed herself eight times from the SRCASA account for a total of $2,748.
Many of the fraudulent reimbursements for which the FDLE found probable cause to charge Short had been previously uncovered in a School District internal investigation in which district officials had relied upon an independent agency for assistance.
That investigation into possible educator misconduct was launched July 30 of last year and concluded that Short, who held the title of district director of in-service and instructional technology, had been stealing for at least two years.
The internal investigation, released publicly in November, determined Short had committed three violations of Florida's Administrative Code, along with violations of School Board ethics and anti-fraud policies to include 10 actions constituting fraud.
Short resigned from the School District rather than facing termination by the School Board at its Nov. 19 meeting. The resignation came on the same day Short received a letter from School Superintendent Karen Barber notifying her of the internal investigation findings.
More: Santa Rosa School District employee 'engaged in financial improprieties' resigns
"Your actions and inactions constitute immorality, misconduct in office, gross insubordination and willful neglect of duty as defined in the Florida Administrative Code," Barber wrote.
In the same note the superintendent notified Short she had been placed on unpaid suspension pending the termination hearing.
In a statement issued Tuesday, the School District thanked FDLE for its "diligent work."
"We have fully cooperated throughout the process and remain committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability for all employees," the statement said.
The FDLE findings indicate Short reimbursed herself in amounts of less than $1,000, and typically less than $500. The largest single fraudulent reimbursement unveiled by FDLE was $995.
In that July 2023 instance, she sought and received payment by claiming she had made a partial payment in advance of a breakfast event. The Santa Rosa Education Foundation had in reality covered the entire $3,943 cost of the event.
The scam was one the FDLE findings revealed Short had successfully attempted in the past. In September of 2022, the agency affidavit said, she had reimbursed herself $690 for a breakfast whose $2,010 tab had been covered by the Santa Rosa Education Foundation.
When Short was originally placed on paid administrative leave, she was directed by the School District to make herself available during daily work hours so that investigators digging into her alleged misappropriations could call her in to speak with them.
She waited a week, however, to respond to an Oct. 7 request to appear before the investigative team and forfeited her right to inquiry.
"Your lack of communication during this period constitutes an abandonment of your position and a failure to participate in the due process opportunity provided," the internal investigators told Short.
Both the internal investigation and the FDLE investigation alleged that Short had altered bookkeeping records or altered invoices to avoid detection. The internal investigation said that when confronted by irregularities Short had presented two years worth of altered bank statements to officers of the county's Association of School Administrators.
The internal investigators also determined Short, as SRCASA treasurer, had provided a false report to the group's board regarding its end of year balance for fiscal year 2022-23.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa School District Administrator Kelly Short charged stealing
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