PTA treasurer pleads guilty to taking funds

LISBON — The former treasurer of the East Palestine Elementary and Middle School Parent Teacher Association has pleaded guilty to taking funds from the organization.

Shari R. Mills, 42, of East North Avenue, East Palestine, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court to one count of theft, a fourth degree-felony. She faces up to 18 months in prison for taking $8,250 from the organization between October of 2004 and October of 2005.

As part of the plea agreement, the state will not take a position on any prison sentence.

She was originally believed to have taken about $14,000, but a review of financial documents documents indicated the amount was lower. She will have to repay the $8,250 before her sentencing next month. Court documents state that Mills wrote checks to herself, or for cash, from association funds.