Ex-Dundee-Crown worker charged with stealing $100K from student fund

A former secretary of Dundee-Crown High School in Carpentersville was charged Thursday with felony theft for taking more than $100,000 from a student activity fund over a two-year period, police said.

Lisa Burkhart-Foster, 46, of the 500 block of Barrington Avenue in East Dundee, was arrested during a traffic stop about 5:45 a.m., near Route 25 and Lake Marian Road in Carpentersville, Police Cmdr. Tim Bosshart said.

"She had been indicted two weeks ago, but our efforts to find her had been unsuccessful," Bosshart said. "We apparently had an old address for her."

The arrest came after an extensive investigation.

"We are taking this very seriously because this was money children had raised for activities like the prom and yearbooks," said Cheryl Crates, District 300's chief financial officer, after the arrest. "It took a while to work through the system - and obviously she is going to have her day in court - but we will have the opportunity to prove that she stole the money."

Authorities say that on April 28, 2006, Burkhart-Foster overstated the balance in the student activity fund by $100,672.54. School officials reassigned Burkhart-Foster to another position before she resigned on May 7, 2006.

Burkhart-Foster was responsible for balancing and transferring money into and out of the account between March 2004 and May 2006, according to court records.

In July 2006, almost two years after officials learned of issues with the account, the district contacted Carpentersville police. An outside firm also was hired to conduct a forensic audit to determine if the money was missing or stolen.

Crates said the district has since replenished the account and added the district's insurance company will reimburse the district for the stolen money.