A woman who served as principal at the nation’s oldest all-girls’ public school pleaded guilty to felony theft charges in connection with stealing money that was intended for student activities like the prom, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Alisha R Trusty, 38, served as principal at Western High School in Baltimore from August 2010 through August of 2014. She appeared in Baltimore Circuit Court earlier this week, where she pleaded guilty to stealing tens of thousands of dollars from school system funds:
- $25,000, debit card and checks, Feb’11–Jan’14
personal items, bills, legal fees, and a 19-day hotel stay in New Jersey - $5,380 through “cash back” transactions, using the school debit card more than 60 times
- $10,875.97 reimbursement for trip expenses
(She had already charged the costs to the student activity fund account.)
Western is famous not only as the oldest public all-girls’ school in the country, but also as the high school home of Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, former Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Nancy S Grasmick, and state Delegate Jill P Carter.
Ms Trusty is the second city principal in two years to face criminal charges in connection with abusing a school’s student activity fund.
William L Howard II, 37, who had served as principal at Coppin Academy High School, pleaded guilty last year to stealing more than $10,000 from the fund. He was sentenced to four years of probation and 150 hours of community service. Plus he has to pay back the money.