A former treasurer for Carrollton Exempted Village Schools has admitted to stealing more than $27,000 from the district and falsifying documents to conceal the misconduct.
Amy Spears, 50, pleaded guilty Sept. 18 in Carroll County Common Pleas Court to felony counts of theft in office and tampering with records. She is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 7. With her plea, Spears is barred from ever holding public office in Ohio.
According to court filings, Spears took $27,620 between September 2022 and October 2024. Investigators said she wrote checks to herself for tuition reimbursement despite not being enrolled in college courses. To justify the payments, she allegedly submitted falsified university records.
The indictment also accused Spears of writing a $5,000 check to herself under the guise of testing a payment system. Records show she later redeposited the full amount after questions were raised.
The investigation began after the Auditor of State’s Special Investigations Unit received anonymous complaints about irregularities in district finances. Auditors determined that Spears collected about $22,000 in improper tuition reimbursements through fabricated documents.
Spears was placed on paid leave April 1. The Carrollton school board later passed a resolution citing the allegations in the indictment as grounds to suspend her without pay and consider termination.
