Ex-PTA President Sentenced in Theft
The former president of the Lang Ranch Elementary School Parent Teacher Assn. was sentenced this week to 120 hours of community service and three years formal probation for stealing nearly $3,200 from PTA accounts last year.
Tracy Ross, 36, was arrested in October after an internal audit revealed discrepancies in the association’s financial records, police said. Ross was jailed on suspicion of grand theft and two counts of forgery and then released the same day after posting $10,000 bail.
She pleaded guilty in Ventura County Superior Court on Dec. 20 to the charge, which a judge reduced to a misdemeanor. Ross also wrote a letter of apology to the school and paid back the money.
Ross was also ordered not to participate in any school activities that involve the exchange of funds.
“This was basically a violation of a position of trust,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Deborah Gaskell.
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