PITTSBURGH, PA — Pennsylvania’s Office of the Budget will be investigating a suburban Pittsburgh school district’s finances. The move comes as its school board president has stepped down from that role after being charged last week with theft and forgery.
Evidence of the probe surfaced last night on a social media post from state Rep. Abigail Salisbury, who previously had requested the state and Allegheny County examined district finances.
The budget office plans to determine whether the district has complied with the state’s school code and other laws from January 2022 to present in regard to district fiscal management practices.
News of the audit arrived as Terri Lawson, 52, of Edgewood resigned as board president but for now remains a school director. The school board on Wednesday elected Karen Lyons as its new president and Dr. Cynthia Wallace as its new vice president.
Lawson is facing felony charges after allegedly misused a credit card when she was manager of one of the district’s boroughs. She is accused of accumulating nearly $10,000 in charges on a card that was used at a marijuana dispensary, restaurants, liquor stores, numerous retailers and a utility bill.
According to court documents, Lawson, the former Rankin Borough manager has been charged with two counts of theft by deception, a count of access device fraud, forgery and tampering with records or identification.