Former School Employee Charged With Felony Theft

An ex-employee of North Laurel Elementary School has been charged with felony theft.

According to Delaware State Police, 40-year-old Wade Bryan turned himself in last week when he was indicted for two counts of theft over $1,500.

State Police said Tuesday that parents were discovering that their checks for a fundraiser and Pre-K tuition were not being cleared, and the school discovered Wade, as school secretary, was not making any deposits. School officials discovered that cash proceeds from a pizza fundraiser last fall were missing from a safe.

According to Delaware State Police:

When incoming checks from the fundraiser hadn’t cleared parents’ bank accounts, the school discovered Wade failed to make any deposits. In addition, he improperly gave the fundraising company the district’s bank account information to conduct an automatic withdrawal for payment for the fundraiser. Once district officials entered the school safe, they discovered all of the cash proceeds from the fundraiser were missing, and the checks were never deposited. 

Laurel School District officials conducted an internal audit for other activity. State Police said Wade took $3,198.50 from the fundraiser and $1,775 in Pre-K tuition funds.

Wade has been released on his own recognizance.