Former Carrollton schools treasurer to be sentenced Oct. 7 for theft in office

Sentencing has been set for Oct. 7 in Carroll County Common Pleas Court for former Carrollton Schools treasurer Amy Spears, who has resigned her position. Judge Michael V. Repella II will preside.

The sentencing date was set after a Sept. 18 pretrial hearing in which Spears pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge of theft in office contained in a May 7 indictment returned by the Carroll County grand jury.

At a special meeting Sept. 22, the Carrollton Board of Education accepted Spears’ resignation: “I hereby resign from all employment in the district effective immediately. Amy Spears.”

Carrollton Schools Superintendent David Davis said the district would post the treasurer’s position Sept. 23.

“As reported by the Ohio Auditor of State, Amy Spears entered a guilty plea for theft in office, while employed by the Carrollton Exempted Village School District. Upon notification of irregularities by the Auditor’s Office, Ms. Spears was immediately relieved of her duties. The district cooperated with the Auditor’s Office during an extensive investigation,” Davis said.

“During this process, the board suspended Ms. Spears without pay and initiated termination, a lengthy process afforded under Ohio law. Ms. Spears has since submitted her notice of immediate resignation.”

According to the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit, which prosecuted the case, Spears admitted to the single felony count of theft in office during the Sept. 18 hearing and was immediately barred from working in the public sector.

The SIU began investigating Spears after receiving anonymous complaints that she had cashed a $5,000 district check made out to herself. When confronted, she redeposited the money and claimed the check was a test of a payment program.

Investigators also found Spears had received about $22,000 in reimbursements for college classes she did not take, based on fraudulent documents she created.

The indictment accused her of writing several checks to herself totaling $27,620 for tuition reimbursements authorized under her employment contract. However, prosecutors said she neither attended nor completed the coursework and falsified university records to justify the payments.