FLORENCE-CARLTON, MONTANA SCHOOL TRUSTEE RESIGNS AFTER EMBEZZLING CHARGE

On November 18, 2009, members of the Florence-Carlton School Board accepted a trustee's resignation at a special meeting on Wednesday night, two days after the woman was charged with embezzling more than $237,000 from an architectural firm in Missoula.
In a letter tendering her resignation, Linda Faye Harris, 50, of Florence, wrote that she was stepping down from her position due to "complicated private and personal issues," but did not specifically mention the criminal allegations. Harris was charged with felony theft by embezzlement Monday in Missoula County Justice Court. She allegedly stole money from CTA Architects over an eight-year period that ended in June.

Florence-Carlton School District Superintendent John McGee said Harris had no independent control over the school district's finances, and that an internal investigation of her roughly year-long term with the board was unnecessary.

"What has happened to Mrs. Harris has no bearing on her past role with the Board of Trustees," McGee said. "I think her final act of resignation is commendable, and I applaud her for taking steps to insulate this district from any wary or suspicious eyes. But as a trustee she had no individual financial control. School districts are designed that way."
Harris began working for CTA Architects of Missoula in 2001 as an administrative assistant and bookkeeper. She resigned in June 2009, after CTA's accounting department discovered Harris had purchased gas on a weekend using a company credit card. She could not explain the purchase, and on closer inspection employees found what appeared to be forged signatures on business checks, as well as "questionable" credit card charges and expense reimbursements that spanned an eight-year period.
Management met with Harris in June to discuss the irregularities, and she admitted stealing between $10,000 and $15,000. She offered to resign, saying she had made "a very bad mistake," according to court records. The company then hired an external accounting firm to audit their records, and the private firm found $237,842 in "questionable expenses" - purchases made between December 2001 and June 2009, according to court records.
Harris told her employer that she had used the money to assist her son financially, paying for his rent, car payments, student loans, food purchases and insurance.
The audit showed payments on a Costco charge card, as well as purchases of clothing, boat parts, tools, tires and a refrigerator, records state. Harris begged for time to pay back the company.
She faces a maximum punishment of 10 years in the Montana State Prison and a $50,000 fine.