School payments, solution for accountants, school business manager.
Former Superintendent accused of stealing $188,000 from Covenant Keepers College Preparatory Charter School in Arkansas.
Valerie Tatum, reportedly cashed four checks between Jan. 16 and Feb. 8 that totaled $188,905, the report said. The report, filed by the school’s current superintendent, Phong H. Tran, says the school’s bookkeeper noticed the withdrawals — which Tatum is not authorized to make — on Feb. 8. Tran filed a report with the Police Department six days after discovering the missing funds. Tatum left the Covenant Keepers school last year. The school of approximately 114 students is currently run by Friendship Education Foundation, a Washington, D.C. Friendship Education Foundation chief operation officer Joe Harris said that the amount of money taken “drained” the account, and a foundation spokesman said only a few thousand dollars were left. Tatum made an unauthorized withdrawal of $19,827.40 on Jan. 16; $9,637.53 on Jan. 25; $147,008 on Jan. 25 and $12,433 on Feb. 8, the same day the bookkeeper noticed the missing funds. The money was withdrawn from an account at U.S. Bank. Police Department spokesman officer Eric Barnes said Thursday that the investigation is in its very early stages, but detectives are tracking down what exactly happened to the money. Barnes said investigators would be talking with all the involved parties in the coming days in order to build a case and — if necessary — press charges. “There’s two sides to the story, and we have to find out what happened,” Barnes said.