Ex-employee arrested in forgery at Bak

The former treasurer at Bak Middle School of the Arts has been arrested on forgery charges, nine months after being cleared on other criminal charges that stemmed from the same case.

Cathleen Spring, 53, of West Palm Beach, was arrested Friday on four counts of forgery and falsifying document charges. She was released later that day after posting a $4,000 bond.

School police concluded in 2015 that she had taken $67,000 from athletics and other funds, instead of depositing them into their proper accounts for the West Palm Beach school. Police also said she had signed her principal’s name on several checks without permission and used a school credit card for personal expenses.

School police filed a report at the time saying there was cause to charge her with grand theft and a scheme to defraud.

But the State Attorney’s Office declined to take the case, saying in September 2015 there were “fatal flaws,” including no video surveillance to prove who took the money. That decision angered school officials and School Board members.

The district’s police department decided to try again, this time focusing on forgery charges, which State Attorney David Aronberg has agreed to pursue.

“This is a different charge than the case presented for the theft,” said Mike Edmonson, a spokesman for Aronberg.

Spring could not be reached for comment.