Police say Brockton PTO official stole to pay bills
BROCKTON – The treasurer of the parent-teacher organization in one of Brockton’s poorest schools secretly siphoned thousands in cash from fundraising events for a full year before she was caught, according to her October statement to police.
Maureen Pierson, 40, told detectives that she skimmed between $4,000 and $8,000 from candle, book and other sales at the Huntington K-5 Elementary School to keep her life afloat.
According to the statement, Pierson’s husband “has a major gambling problem.
“He will often times spend his entire check on scratch tickets, leaving her nothing to pay bills,” the statement said.
Pierson told police the man had also been out of work with an injury.
“The suspect also stated she acted alone and nobody knew she was doing it,” according to the report compiled by Brockton police Detectives Erin Cummings and Jackie Congdon.
Pierson worked at the Huntington for five years, starting as a lunch monitor and ending as a paraprofessional when she resigned in October as charges were brought against her.
She was treasurer of the parent-teacher group for two years.
It isn’t clear how she was able to gain sole access to funds when most schools now require a two-person sign-off for cash and other deposits.
“We’ll probably never know the exact amount,” said Brockton police Lt. Kenneth LeGrice. “She doesn’t even know.”
In an unfortunate irony, Pierson received the Positive Parent Award from the Brockton Public Schools’ Parent Engagement Program in 2013.
The honor was announced in the Huntington School Hawkeye in October 2013, the same month she told police she began taking funds.
Pierson was arraigned in Brockton District Court on Friday on a single charge of larceny over $250 in a single scheme. After entering a plea of not guilty, the case was continued to Jan. 28.
Attorney Paul Healey was appointed as Pierson’s lawyer.
He declined comment, except to say he will meet with his client after Veterans Day.
A spokeswoman for the Plymouth County district attorney’s office also declined comment other than to acknowledge Pierson’s appearance in court.
Parents and fellow PTO officers at the K-5 elementary school were reeling in October upon learning of the alleged theft.
They said the breach in trust hurt for many reasons, not the least being that every dollar raised is hard-fought-for to give children extras that aren’t included in the district’s budget.
Efforts are under way to resume fundraising and recoup losses at the school.
In October, Huntington Principal June Saba-Maguire said she was confused when overdue PTO bills came to her in the school’s mail.
According to the police report, letters included a demand for $1,800 from the Scholastic Book Fair and $1,600 from Yankee Candle.
When Saba-Maguire confronted Pierson, she said she was assured the bills would be paid, according to the report.
Pierson told police she had hoped to use her tax return to repay what she had taken before anyone noticed.
Up until she was caught, Pierson was pocketing the cash from fundraisers instead of making deposits into the PTO account at Eastern Bank on Belmont Street, police said.
“She would count out cash at the end of the night and just keep it,” detectives said. “She also took from other fundraisers, but paid back most of them.”
A number of monthly treasurer’s reports were also missing, officials said.
If convicted, Pierson faces a penalty of not more than five years in state prison, not more than two years in jail, and a fine of not more than $25,000.