PTA MUM STOLE SCHOOL FUNDS
CITY PARENT TEACHER ASSOCIATION CHAIR TOOK £4,000 CASH
A MUM-of-two who was chairwoman of the Parent Teacher Association at a Cardiff primary school stole more than £4,000 worth of funds in a year.
Ellen Johnson pocketed cash raised at cake sales and school discos, as well as withdrawing money from the association’s bank account, claiming it was for floats but keeping it for herself.
Sentencing her at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said: “This has created a great deal of trouble and heartache for those involved with the association.”
The court heard she stole £4,150.48 between September 2015 and October 2016.
Stephen Donoghue, prosecuting, said Johnson became a member of the PTA at Lakeside Primary School in 2012.
He said: “The prosecution accept she had good intentions at the beginning.”
The court heard she became chairwoman in 2015 and was responsible for the funds coming in and going out.
Prosecutors said there were eight thefts, ranging between £108.85 and £2,000.
The court heard Johnson had “financial difficulties” during her time as chairwoman and was struggling with payday loans.
Mr Donoghue said: “The allure of being able to handle quite substantial monies became too tempting and that is when she began to steal.”
A school disco raised £399.17 on October 23, 2015, but the court heard Johnson “kept it for herself”.
Prosecutors said she was one of two signatories for the PTA bank account and withdrew cash, which she kept.
On December 1 that year she withdrew £400 from the account, pretending it was to be used as a float for another fundraising event.
Mr Donoghue said: “It was not used as a float or repaid to the bank account.”
On April 21, 2016, she took out £2,000, but prosecutors said: “There could never be a school event that would need a float of £2,000. That money was kept by her.”
The court heard despite stealing the cash, Johnson posted on social media after each event to say how much had been raised.
Mr Donoghue said: “To some extent it was her own posts which led to the investigation being able to trace her. A new person took over the helm and realised money was missing from the account.”
Johnson was arrested in 2017 and accepted she may have “mislaid small amounts”, but denied stealing anything and suggested someone else might be responsible.
In a statement read out in court, current chairwoman Sian Lewis said the defendant’s actions had a “severe impact” on confidence in the PTA, which relies on donations.
She said: “Many businesses will no longer donate to us.”
Ms Lewis said she believed Johnson’s thefts had caused “permanent damage” to the reputation of the school and the PTA.
Johnson, 43, from Bryngwyn Road, Cyncoed, Cardiff, denied the charges against her, but pleaded guilty on the day her trial was due to start to eight counts of theft.
Byron Broadstock, defending, said his client was unemployed at the time and her thenhusband had recently changed jobs, which left them struggling financially as a family.
He said she was using payday loans and never intended to steal from the PTA. It was always her intention to repay the money.
Johnson was given a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
She was given three months to pay £4,150.48 in compensation, plus £1,200 towards prosecution costs and an £85 victim surcharge.