UPDATE | Liberty teacher faces theft charge

LIBERTY

Justina Hafely, a Liberty schools kindergarten teacher in the Blott-Guy building, is charged with theft, according to Girard Municipal Court records.

According to a police report, Hafely is a cheerleading coach for seventh and eighth grade students. The report said she sent forms home with the cheerleaders in September this year including cost for shoes, pom-poms and a hair bow totaling $40 for each cheerleader.

Hafely told a school official she would drop off money the money she had, but the police report states she never did, based on school records.

The only money deposited for the team by October was money sent from parents directly, leaving a large unpaid balance. In October, the school began contacting parents of the team participants, and several parents confirmed in writing they sent cash payments, including one parent who sent a money order that was never cashed, the report said.

Police searched Hafely’s car and discovered about $300 in an envelope, along with three Chromebooks from the school that had been missing.

Hafely told police she had lost the money. For two years, she said she would take a Chromebook home to allow her kids to play with it, and then would lose track of it.

At her home, police found a handwritten ledger indicating who paid for cheer and items the students had paid for.

Police also discovered that $30 given to Hafely from a kindergartner for school lunch money was never turned into the school.

A spokeswoman for the school confirmed that the teacher was put on paid administrative leave, and said it’s district policy not to comment on a case that is under investigation.

Her court hearing is set for Jan. 9 at 10 a.m., court records say.