A Perry Hall woman pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing money from the Perry Hall Middle School PTSA, according to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office.

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Cynthia Drye, who served as president of the PTSA between 2010 and 2011, was found guilty of theft scheme between $1,000 and $10,000, which is a felony. She was sentenced to three years in prison, which were suspended, and two years of supervised probation. She was also sentenced to 200 hours of community service, according to Assistant State's Attorney Allan Webster.

Drye, 45, who was charged in September, had already made full restitution of the estimated $6,800 stolen from the PTSA before her court appearance on the morning of Jan. 12, according to Webster.

The case, which originated in district court, was transferred to circuit court under Judge Michael J. Finifter after Drye requested a jury trial in December. Instead, she pleaded guilty during a brief court appearance. 

Drye apologized and showed some remorse for her actions before the judge, Webster said. She cited financial difficulties as part of her motive for stealing the funds.

The charge against Drye, reported by Patch in October, elicited a passionate response from members of the Perry Hall community and many who were outraged that thousands of dollars had gone missing from the volunteer organization's coffers.

According to a police report, Perry Hall Middle Principal Allen Zink was contacted in May 2011 by a Bank of America fraud analyst who alerted him that several checks made payable to the school and the PTSA had been deposited into Drye's personal account.

At that time, some members had already suspected theft from the PTSA. Funds were missing from donations to the Johns Hopkins Children's Center Pediatric Burn Center and other fundraising events, according to the police report.

Bank of America provided information that seven Market Day fundraising checks, two Box Tops for Education fundraising checks and one Brinker International Restaurants check were among those deposited into Drye's personal account, the police report states.

Zink joined the PTSA executive board in voting Drye out of her position as president in May. The board then voted to allow for a PTA Council of Baltimore County audit of the organization's accounts and to turn the investigation over to police, Zink told Patch in October.

Tom Koogle, a Perry Hall resident and construction manager who had not previously been a member of the executive board, was elected as the new PTSA president in July.

Koogle informed police at the beginning of September that an official audit of the organization's accounts was completed. It showed a loss of $6,883.89 from PTSA accounts, according to a police report.

By this time, Drye had repaid $4,700 into the PTSA account, not factored into the earlier audit. A note attached to copies of deposits stated, "Deposits made by Cindi Drye - (restitution)," a police record states.

Drye was interviewed by police in mid-September. She told investigators she had been suffering from complications with diabetes and "some psychological illness," as well as personal financial problems. She said she had tried to "right her wrong" by paying $4,700 into the account, according to the police report.

Drye told police that the "temptation to take the funds was overwhelming," according to a police report. She also told police that she was willing to pay back the remaining $2,183.89, but did not have the money immediately available.

Drye was charged and issued a court summons on Sept. 20. She was not arrested, a police record shows.

Under his leadership, Koogle told Patch in October that the organization was being run with responsibility and transparency.

All organization expenditures and budget proposals are posted on the PTSA website, Koogle said.

"[The investigation] should not discourage anyone from donating to the PTSA," he added.

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