MANSFIELD — Former Mansfield Senior athletics director Jennifer Lepard owes $700 to the Mansfield City School District for missing ticket revenue, state auditors reported on Thursday.
In a separate case, according to the Richland County Prosecutor’s Office, Lepard was arrested on July 5, 2018 and indicted by a grand jury July 10 on charges of third-degree felony theft in office, fourth-degree felony grand theft and fourth-degree felony theft. She posted a $5,000 surety bond and was released from jail shortly after she was taken into custody.
Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher said Thursday that particular case is scheduled for trial on Jan. 7, but in light of the auditor’s findings it could be delayed.
The state auditor’s office issued a finding for recovery against Lepard, ordering her to repay $700 to the district. She was placed on paid administrative leave in May for unrelated reasons.
According to a press release from Auditor Dave Yost’s office, a financial audit of the Richland County school district for fiscal year 2018 names Lepard responsible for numerous discrepancies between the district’s athletic event ticket proceeds and the amounts deposited into the district’s bank account.
Auditors noted instances where bank deposits included more money than the district collected for ticket sales and other times when deposits contained less than what was collected. Lepard, 44, of New Washington, was in charge of overseeing ticket sales for the district’s athletic events.
Lepard had also served as the Mansfield Schools Education Association’s treasurer beginning in July 2015.
When the July 10 indictment was announced, Richland County Assistant Prosecutor Brandon Pigg said there were missing funds from the Mansfield School Employees Association fund. He noted that allegations included Lepard writing checks to herself and cashing them in the neighborhood of $10,000.
Lepard was hired as the high school’s athletic director on June 20, 2017. Previously, she worked for 14 years as a special-education teacher at the school.
She is no longer listed on the Mansfield City School’s district website. Messages were left with the board of education office and the district spokesperson.
A special report published by Auditor Yost in November 2017 highlights the dangers local governments and school districts face when collection processes go unchecked. According to the report, more than $3.4 million in payments received by local governments and school districts in the past decade never made it into their bank accounts.
A full copy of the district’s audit report is available online.
This is a developing story.
