Woodland Hills school board president charged in Rankin Borough theft case

The president of the Woodland Hills school board has been charged with multiple felonies in connection with alleged credit card misuse from when she was the manager of Rankin Borough.

According to court records and police paperwork, Terri Lawson has been charged with theft by deception, forgery, tampering with records, and access device fraud and is accused of using a Rankin Borough credit card for personal purchases. 

A criminal complaint filed by the Eastern Mon Valley Regional Police Department details the allegations against Lawson, who is also is the president of the Woodland Hills School District board of directors. 

Police said that an investigation was opened earlier this year after the borough's interim manager reported that Lawson, who used to serve as borough manager, had used a borough credit card for personal expenses last year.

According to investigators, Lawson allegedly used a borough credit card that she was the designated cardholder for on more than 130 different occasions over a six-month period between August 2025 and December 2025.

Police said that the credit card was used for purchases at a number of different retailers including, but not limited to Lowe's, Amazon, Giant Eagle, Walmart, Sunoco, Sam's Club, ALDI, TJ Maxx, Big Lots, Olive Garden, Target, and Applebee's.

Investigators determined that Lawson allegedly charged over $10,000 to the borough's credit card, with more than $9,800 of those purchases being for personal use.

According to police, Lawson made personal payments totaling over $5,500 towards the account between August 2025 and November 2025.

Lawson turned herself in on Friday with her attorney, Phil DiLucente, by her side. He said she emphatically denies all of the allegations. 

"If you work for an organization, whether it's a company, and your name is on the card, you have authorization to use it," DiLucente said. "You'll see on a later date that there was not only a parent authority,  there was actual authority."

Police said that the borough is still owed nearly $5,000 in restitution.

"She did not steal any money whatsoever," DiLucente said. "More importantly, we believe at this juncture that money is actually owed to her for things she had purchased on behalf of the borough."

Woodland Hills School District at center of controversy

While no allegations have been made about wrongdoing within the school district, Lawson is the president of the board where Woodland Hills continues to operate under a cloud of controversy.

In a statement, the district solicitor says in part, "These charges stem from matters that are entirely separate from her role and responsibilities as a member of the Woodland Hills School Board. At this time, these charges do not legally impact her ability to serve on the Board."

Superintendent Joe Malunchnik was placed on administrative leave last year and one board member said that the district leader was a whistleblower being railroaded for questioning past financial practices.

Last month, State Rep. Abigail Salisbury called for a criminal investigation into the district's actions after hearing from constituents, many of whose concerns came from Maluchnik being placed on leave. 

School leaders strongly denied that the district is misusing funds.

While the majority of the board says it's prohibited by law from discussing the probe, minority member Darnika Reed says the others want to get rid of Maluchnik for raising questions about district finances.  

No charges have been filed in relation to misconduct within the school district leadership.