A report from Ohio’s State Auditor Keith Faber reveals that thousands of dollars are missing from a soft drink vending machine at Worthington City Schools. Police continue to investigate and no criminal charges have been filed, though an administrative secretary who oversaw the funds has resigned.

More than $17,000 is missing from a Worthington City Schools soft drink vending machine, with alleged thefts of the revenue spanning six years.

The machine at Linworth Alternative School, at 2075 W. Dublin-Granville Road, should have operated on a net zero margin. But from 2013 to 2019, cash disbursements from the machine exceeded the receipts deposited, according to a report released by state Auditor Keith Faber this week.

Specifically, 52 cash payments to vendors totaled about $25,000 and 24 cash deposits totaled about $8,000, leaving about $17,000 unaccounted for, the report noted.

An administrative secretary responsible for collecting and depositing the money from the self-fill machine resigned July 1, 2019, after the district treasurer’s office became aware of the issue in May, according to the state auditor’s office report.

The secretary’s resignation letter states that she resigned for "personal reasons." She referred a Dispatch reporter to her attorney, who said she is cooperating with investigators.

The secretary had worked for the district since 2013. Her annual salary was about $41,000, according to her personnel file.

The Dispatch is not naming the woman because no criminal charges have been filed thus far.

Worthington police continue to investigate the matter, records specialist Kimberly Santuomo told The Dispatch on Wednesday.

A report dated June 13, 2019 provided by Santuomo states only that "money was stolen from the business" and lists the address for the school district’s offices.

The Worthington school district has since discontinued the self-fill soft drink machine program "to eliminate the potential internal control weakness," Faber’s report states.

According to Ohio law, public officials who authorize illegal expenditures of public funds or supervise the accounts from which illegal expenditures are made, or from which funds are lost are stolen, are liable for losses.

The district used its insurance coverage under the Ohio School Plan to recover the missing money. It received a check for about $16,000 after paying a $1,000 deductible to the Toledo-based insurer.

awidmanneese@dispatch.com

@AlissaWidman