Elk Grove elementary school employee arrested for allegedly stealing money from school

An office assistant at Zehnder Ranch Elementary School in Elk Grove was arrested July 24 for allegedly stealing money from the school, police said.

Earlier in July, police began an investigation into field trip money that went missing from Zehnder Ranch, according to Sgt. Tess Deterding, spokeswoman for the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department.

They found the money was in the possession of office assistant Geenel Madrid when it went missing, Deterding said. Police also discovered she was in possession of school checks she was not authorized to have.

Madrid, 27, was booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail on July 24, but has since left, according to jail logs.

She resigned from her job at the school a few days after being arrested “based on allegations of misappropriating funds,” Zehnder Ranch Elementary School Principal Mechale Murphy wrote in an email to parents July 28.

“This news is both shocking and disappointing as it is not common and we are cooperating with law enforcement as they complete the investigation,” she said. “Please know that we have checks and balances in place to prevent and/or detect these types of incidents, and in this case, the system worked in detecting the fraud.”

The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office is handling the case now, Deterding said. They are still reviewing the allegations and haven’t filed charges yet, according to the office’s spokeswoman, Shelly Orio.

Madrid is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 5, Orio said.

This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 2:21 PM.