Woodland Hills school board president resigns after being charged in Rankin theft case
The Woodland Hills School District said its board president resigned after being charged and accused of theft from Rankin Borough last week.
The district said that Terri Lawson resigned from her position stemming from theft by deception, forgery, tampering with records, and access device fraud charges filed that accused her of credit card misuse from when she was the manager of Rankin Borough.
Lawson turned herself in to authorities last week, and her attorney said she emphatically denies the allegations. Lawson was at a school board meeting on Wednesday night when her resignation was accepted. She resigned from her role as president, but not from her seat on the board. The board also voted to begin the process to censure Lawson. It will vote on it at its next meeting.
Karen Lyon was voted as the new board president. She was previously the vice president.
Police said that Lawson charged nearly $10,000 of personal purchases on Rankin Borough's credit card last year 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.
Rep. Salisbury announces audit
On Wednesday, state Rep. Abigail Salisbury announced the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget will conduct a performance audit of the district's finances.
She said in a post on Facebook that the audit will evaluate whether the district has complied with the state School Code and other laws and regulations regarding its fiscal management and operations. The audit is set to run from Jan. 1, 2022, through Feb. 17, 2026.
The solicitor said district staff wants to meet with Rep. Salisbury and review any documents she wants to examine. He reiterated during Wednesday's meeting that the district is not aware of any financial misappropriations.
"We take our fiduciary responsibility seriously and remain vigilant in our oversight of district finances," solicitor Matthew Racunas said. "Any allegations or suggestions of financial wrongdoing are without foundation based on the information available to the board."
Woodland Hills at center of controversy
While no allegations have been made about wrongdoing within the school district, Lawson had served as president of the board, where Woodland Hills continues to operate under a cloud of controversy.
Superintendent Joe Maluchnik 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.
The district now says that Maluchnik's leave has been changed to military leave as he attends annual training.
"His administrative and military leave is unrelated to any allegations of District fund misuse," the district said.
School leaders previously strongly denied that the district is misusing funds.
