District set to fire teacher accused of theft
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mt. Lebanon school directors on Monday took the first steps toward firing a teacher accused of stealing nearly $5,000 from a student travel account.
High school German teacher Christian Stein, 55, of Mt. Lebanon, was charged last month with a felony count of theft and a misdemeanor charge of misapplication of entrusted funds.
According to Mt. Lebanon police, Mr. Stein, who has worked for the district for 23 years, took the money from a bank account funded by students for annual summertrips to Germany.
Police, who were alerted to the alleged theft in February by the district, said Mr. Stein made 98 separate withdrawals over seven years, totaling $4,812.40.
When confronted by police, Mr. Stein said he was having financial difficulty and said “I'm sorry for what I did,” and “I accept full responsibility for the funds I should not have used,” according to a criminal complaint.
On Monday, the school board voted to put Mr. Stein on notice that the district intends to terminate him, pending a formal hearing.
He has been suspended from teaching since Feb. 8, when the district was informed of the alleged theft by a sponsor of the German club, which is organized by teachers but not officially sanctioned by the school district.
“The district does not sponsor or participate in international summer trips, which are arranged privately between trip sponsors and parents,” district spokeswoman Cissy Bowman said in a statement. “The account was not held, monitored, or controlled by the district.”
Mr. Stein was held for court on the charges last month by District Judge Blaise P. Larotonda and faces formal arraignment June 27 at the Allegheny County Courthouse.
If Mr. Stein decides to challenge his termination, he can do so with a hearing in front of the board or a request for arbitration, superintendent Timothy Steinhauer said.
“It’s up to Mr. Stein whether he wants to pursue a board hearing,” Mr. Steinhauer said.
Also on Monday, the board approved a final budget of $96.6 million for next year tht will keep the tax rate at 23.93 mills. The budget will be balanced with a $750,000 fund balance, made possible largely due to a bond refinancing last month that saved the district almost $7 million.