A Polk County physical education teacher and head softball coach at Kathleen High School is accused of taking money meant for the team and depositing it into her personal bank account.
- Kathleen High School softball coach Kaeline Mancuso
- Accused of changing name on several checks to the team
- Mancuso claims she did not steal the money, used it to buy equipment
Kaelin Mancuso of Lakeland is charged with three counts of forgery, one count of grand theft and three counts of passing a forged instrument.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said in one case, a business bought an advertisement banner for $300. It made a check payable to "Dirt Devils Softball." The check was never turned in by Mancuso and no banner was purchased.
Deputies said the check was altered and the "Pay to the Order of" was changed to "Kaelin Mancuso."
In another incident, an organization submitted a check to "Kathleen Softball" for $200 for work the team helped with.
That same organization wrote another check for $200 for "Opening Day Help."
In both cases, the sheriff's office said the checks were changed to be made payable to "Kaelin Mancuso" and all of them were deposited into her personal account.
Mancuso told deputies she didn't think the school would take the checks so she changed them. She said she used the money to buy team equipment.
She said she didn't know it was wrong to change the checks and said she did not steal any money.
Polk County Schools issued a statement that said: "The school district is grateful for the generosity of the community. Any misuse of these valuable resources is unacceptable."
Mancuso has been with the school district since 2012.
She has been placed on administrative leave and an internal investigation is underway.