Jaylene Leslie, a board member for Dublin Partnerships in Education and former President of the Dublin Unified School District's Parent Faculty Club, was arrested by Dublin Police on charges of embezzlement and grand theft.
Police say that investigators learned through an eight-month investigation that Leslie had embezzled more than $38,000 from the Parent Faculty Club, after it was reported in November of 2012 that a large sum of money was missing.
Leslie, a special event coordinator at Dougherty Elementary School for six years, was honored for her school volunteer work by the Dublin School Board in May 2011, just two months before the alleged embezzlement began.
In a Patch YouTube video celebrating the honorees, who were recognized for "notable achievement and contributions," Superintendent Stephen Hanke said of Leslie: "She is always on top of the fundraising and takes on jobs that no one else will volunteer for...as Leslie understands how schools and school budgets work, she's able to make decisions that benefit all students."
As she stood beside him smiling happily, Hanke added: "You will never find a more consistent and trustworthy volunteer with a strong work ethic."
According to her LinkedIn profile, Leslie is an "accomplished sales and event manager with over 10 years’ experience" who "managed and secured multi-million dollar city and county waste contracts."
Her resume states that she's currently a sales consultant for Zuberance, Inc. in San Carlos and is a state delegate for the Democratic Party.
She previously worked for Alameda County Waste Management Inc., where she says she worked with city officials to manage waste contracts and secured multi-million dollar contracts.
Dublin Unified School District Superintendent Stephen Hanke is doing his best to step in front of the embezzlement scandal that is rocking quiet, family-friendly City of Dublin, CA. On Wednesday, police arrested Dublin parent Jaylene Leslie on embezzlement and grand theft charges. According to information released by Dublin Police Services, the 44-year-old mother of two lives on Asterwood Drive. Her primary residence is just a five-minute drive at 1.2 miles from Santa Rita Jail.
“I regret to inform you that a former Dougherty Elementary School Parent Faculty Club President has been arrested for embezzlement. An ongoing investigation since last fall has revealed that this parent was involved in stealing $38,522.59 from the Dougherty Elementary School PFC during the 2011-12 school year. We have been cooperating with the Dublin Police Department throughout the investigation. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I share the community’s deep disappointment over this situation. It is impossible for us to fully understand this selfish action. Our parents and teachers work tirelessly to raise funds to enhance our students’ educational programs and services. On behalf of these hard working and dedicated people, I want to stress that the District will continue to cooperate with law enforcement as they determine the penalty for this crime. The District is committed to ensuring that all programs for children at Dougherty Elementary School will continue as planned and will not be impacted by this matter. We are confident that this unfortunate incident will not hinder the ongoing work of our parent volunteers who tirelessly raise funds to provide activities that enrich the educational experiences of our students at all of our schools,” wrote Dr. Stephen Hanke in a public statement.
In addition to volunteering tirelessly for Dublin’s schools, Jaylene Leslie had served as the President of the Parent Faculty Club (PFC) at Dougherty Elementary School. Once considered a pillar of the community, Leslie is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail at Dublin’s Santa Rita Jail. “You will never find a more consistent and trustworthy volunteer with a strong work ethic,” praised Dublin School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke at an award ceremony honoring exceptional employees and volunteers in 2011.
Although Jaylene Leslie is still listed as an active member on the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) Board of Directors, DPIE has confirmed that the fundraising arm of Dublin Unified School District is no longer affiliated with the organization. Like Dr. Hanke, DPIE Executive Director Janet Lockhart would like to reassure everyone in the Dublin community that the impact of Leslie’s betrayal is localized to Dougherty Elementary School. “I am confident in saying that Jaylene has never served on a committee or in a position to interact with DPIE funds. In fact, she has been absent most of this past year with some serious health issues. She resigned in June because of her lack of attendance at Board meetings and some upcoming surgeries she has scheduled. We have no concerns regarding Jaylene’s board membership and our accounting measures. Our money is managed by a CPA firm in Oakland. We have safe guards in place to prevent abuse by anyone,” said Lockhart.
DPIE is a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation dedicated to fostering mutually beneficial business, community, and education partnerships for the benefit of students of the Dublin Unified School District. Since 1992, DPIE has engaged the community to raise much-needed funds and deliver student experiences that help Dublin schools maintain excellence.
Dougherty Elementary School in Dublin, CA has become ground zero for an embezzlement scandal that is rocking its quiet, family-friendly community. Last Wednesday, Dublin Police Services arrested Dublin parent Jaylene Leslie on embezzlement and grand theft charges. In addition to volunteering tirelessly for Dublin’s schools, Jaylene Leslie had served as the President of the Parent Faculty Club (PFC) at Dougherty Elementary School. Once considered a pillar of the community, Leslie is being held in lieu of $20,000 bail at Dublin’s Santa Rita Jail. “You will never find a more consistent and trustworthy volunteer with a strong work ethic,” praised Dublin School Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke at an award ceremony honoring exceptional employees and volunteers in 2011.
Although Jaylene Leslie is still listed as an active member on the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE) Board of Directors, DPIE has confirmed that Leslie is no longer affiliated with the organization, which is the fundraising arm of Dublin Unified School District. “She has been absent most of this past year with some serious health issues. She resigned in June because of her lack of attendance at Board meetings and some upcoming surgeries she has scheduled,” confirmed DPIE Executive Director Janet Lockhart.
According to Dublin Police Chief Tom McCarthy, Dougherty Elementary School PFC was the focus of the investigation by Dublin Police Services. “I am not aware of any part of the investigation involving the Dublin Partners in Education (DPIE). The Dougherty Elementary PFC is a separate entity and I am unaware of Jaylene Leslie being involved with DPIE,” said Chief McCarthy. “We provided a press release to the news agencies in an attempt to identify any other victims and will conduct additional investigations if there are other victims that have suspicion of similar crime involving their organization.”
Dublin Police Services understands the public’s questions concerning Jaylene Leslie and the extent of her betrayal; however, Dublin Police Services cannot release any additional information regarding the accused at this time as the embezzlement case is awaiting trial by the Alameda County District Attorney.
Jaylene Leslie will be arraigned on August 9, 2013 at the Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice in Pleasanton. The Gale-Schenone Hall of Justice is located at 5672 Stoneridge Drive. Leslie is scheduled to appear at 9:00AM.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment