Former Eau Gallie High School bookkeeper arrested for embezzling nearly $120,000, deputies say

VIERA, Fla. — A former bookkeeper at Eau Gallie High School, in Viera, was arrested and charged with embezzlement following allegations she stole nearly $120,000 from the school, Brevard County deputies announced Wednesday.

Patricia Coleman worked at the school since 1993, investigators said. She’s accused of embezzling about $97,000 over two years from various funds at Eau Gallie and about $23,000 from an account the high school principal administered for Cape Coast Conference athletics, deputies said. The money raised by students is used for field trips, student fundraising or cash collected at athletic events.

Deputies said Coleman used some of the money on lavish vacations. Deputies said the school district received a tip about irregularities from a rodeo group that Coleman also did bookkeeping for.

“Our trust has been violated by an employee hired to support our students,” superintendent Desmond Blackburn said in a news release. “We will institute appropriate measures to eliminate opportunities to commit crimes in Brevard Public Schools.”

Pennie Zuercher, the chief financial officer with the Brevard County Public School District, said in a statement that the school district will cover the reimbursement of the missing fund that Coleman is accused of taking. Zuercher said any other missing funds will depend on restitution paid in the criminal case.

District leaders said they plan to take new measures to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

• Centralizing portions of school accounting at district headquarters in Viera, where deposits would be verified, accounts reconciled and checks cut on behalf of schools and activities. The plan still requires school board approval for the hiring of four new accounting-staff members.

• Hiring an armored car service to pick up deposits at schools.

• Centralizing school accounts into one bank.

District leaders said they’ve already implemented financial training for the Eau Gallie principal, who was responsible for oversight of the bookkeeper, surprise visits and interim audits of the school and development of a checklist for school principals.

Coleman resigned Sept. 2, 2016, her personnel file at BPS includes no previous disciplinary action, investigators said.

Coleman is being held on a $1 million bond.

Cox Media Group