Authorities investigate principal in thefts

She denies the accusations. She retired in September for health reasons, her attorney says.

By AMBER MOBLEY and LETITIA STEIN, Times Staff Writer
Published November 6, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT Carmen Aguero was principal from 2001 until she retired on Sept. 17.

TAMPA - A few days before Webb Middle School principal Carmen Aguero retired in September, investigators began looking into complaints that she stole small amounts of money from the school.

In an internal investigation, school district officials found that Aguero, 55, collected $247 in cash for the United Negro College Fund, but only turned in $25.

Employees at the Town 'N Country school told the district's investigators that small thefts have plagued the main office for several years. Concerns about the former principal "came to a head" when $30 was taken from the bookkeeper's desk earlier this fall, according to the report.

The State Attorney's Office is reviewing the case. No charges have been filed.

Aguero said the accusations are "unfounded and untrue" when contacted Monday at her north Hillsborough home. She referred questions to her attorney, Dominic Baccarella of Tampa, who stressed that Aguero retired "because of her health."

"There's no theft," Baccarella said.

He said Aguero's decision to resign was at least two years in the making.

District records show she retired Sept. 17, three days after the Hillsborough Sheriff's Office began investigating her regarding the missing scholarshipmoney at Webb.

Aguero told sheriff's deputies that she is responsible for the money, so she would pay back any that was missing. She said she did not know how much money was there, according to a petty theft report provided by the school district.

District officials have asked authorities to pursue charges against Aguero, a 34-year Hillsborough educator. She was making more than $91,000 at the time of her retirement.

The news stunned Webb's PTSA president Jeff Taylor. Under Aguero's leadership, Webb earned a celebratory visit from former Gov. Jeb Bush for lifting its school grade from a C in 2004 to an A in 2006.

"I'm surprised. Every time I saw her deal with the kids, there was nothing negative," Taylor said. "I know she cares about those kids down there."

But district records show that several Webb employees were having concerns about how money was handled under Aguero, the principal since 2001.

Chief among them was the $247 in cash raised during a school collection for the United Negro College Fund last winter.

The school's bookkeeper, Sara Harman, wrote in a memo included in the investigation file that Aguero became irritated when Harman drew up a check for the donation. She said Aguero slammed her pen down and insisted on cash. Records show Aguero also wrote a personal check for $75 for the college fund.

Harman declined to comment Monday.

Assistant principal Lucy White told the district's investigators about other thefts at the school offices. In October 2006, someone entered the administrator's locked office and took $180 in cash, a $35 Publix gift card and a $25 gift card to Carrabba's restaurant.

Secretary Beverly Shortt also reported concerns to the district. In December 2004, she came back from lunch to find $40 collected for the ham at a Christmas office party missing from her desk in a locked office. A year later, another envelope with $56 for her daughter's yearbook candy sale disappeared from her locked desk.

Neither White nor Shortt returned calls for comment.

Aguero's most recent evaluation noted that she had taken steps to improve the school's finances after a district audit found $722 in missing money and sloppy bookkeeping between October 2005 and June 2006.

Overall, the assessment was positive: "Carmen works very well in her community. She has challenging students and parents, but always put in the extra effort to make them feel like Webb Middle School is home."

[Last modified November 5, 2007, 22:04:54]