Former North Oconee Teacher Accused of Stealing From Student Organization

A former health occupations teacher and sponsor of the school's student organization Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) was booked into the Oconee County Jail Thursday on theft charges.

Sharon Lynn LaCount, 42, of Colbert, turned herself in on warrants for three felony charges and one misdemeanor charge of theft by taking, Chief Deputy Lee Weems of the said.

The charges stem from an investigation that began on Oct. 12, 2011 when Principal Philip Brown received a report of bookkeeping irregulariies involving LaCount, according to a statement from Superintendent John Jackson. 

"An internal investigation was launched, and the investigation revealed financial discrepancies of a very serious nature," Jackson noted.

In November, school officials began conducting a joint investigation with the Sheriff's Office.

The investigation found that between March and October of 2011, at least $7,000 in checks and an undetermined amount of cash was taken from the HOSA account, Weems said. The funds were not public funds, but were donations from parents and students. The money had been misappropriated and taken by LaCount for personal use, he explained.

Two days after the investigation began, LaCount resigned her position.

"Had she not resigned, I would have recommended to the Oconee County Board of Education that her employment be terminated," Jackson's statement reads. "The matter was turned over to the Oconee County Sheriff's Office, and was also referred to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the state agency that oversees the certification and licensure of public school educators."

LaCount was hired on July 30, 2010 and was in her second year of teaching at North Oconee, Jackson said.