Frustrated parents at Westlake High School in southwest Fulton County just want their money back after the school's former PTA president allegedly stole money collected for a senior trip, Channel 2 Action News reports.
Kimberly Wright was in charge of organizing the class trip to Walt Disney World last spring, and 53 parents paid her $475 apiece for the excursion – more than $25,000 total.
But just before the trip, Wright canceled it and then allegedly failed to refund the money. Since then, police have arrested and charged the woman with theft by deception.
At a preliminary hearing Monday, Wright’s attorney told the court her client is trying to pay back the money, a little at a time. The defendant says a lot of the money was tied up in non-refundable deposits and she cannot get at it.
So far, Wright has repaid seven families and is raising money to repay the others, attorney Marcia Fuller said. She requested more time to get her evidence together. A Fulton County magistrate judge rescheduled Wright’s preliminary hearing for Nov. 30.
Exasperated by the delay, parent Angela White told Channel 2, “I’m trusting the justice system to work for me, but I’m feeling like the justice system is failing me, also.”
Parent Regina Daniels said the turn of events “really, really hurt because we’d been saving for my daughter’s college since she was born.”
Now that her daughter is attending Kennesaw State University, Daniels said, “that money could be a great help for textbooks, and that’s what we’re hoping -- to get it back in time for the second semester.”
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