Fort Lauderdale, FL — A 57-year-old Broward County school employee is facing a felony grand theft charge after investigators accused her of failing to account for nearly $5,000 in public education funds, according to court and arrest records.
Prosecutors filed the case against Shauntay Poole on Wednesday following allegations involving cash collected through fundraising and other school-related activities.
According to a Sept. 16 arrest report, Sgt. Thomas Honan, a detective with the Broward Schools Police special investigations unit, said Poole had worked for Broward District Schools for 28 years.
The investigation focused on financial discrepancies that allegedly emerged between September and February.
Investigators questioned missing cash deposits
According to the arrest report, Poole came under scrutiny over what authorities described as discrepancies involving cash funds from fundraising and other school-related activities.
Honan identified several witnesses in the case, including Ryan Smith, director of the BCPS Business Support Center in Sunrise, and Mark Howard, principal of MacArthur High School in Hollywood.
The investigation centered on outstanding deposits that had not been properly accounted for.
Honan wrote that Poole “failed to account for or provide documentation for the ten outstanding cash deposits” collected during the period under investigation.
The deposits reportedly totaled $4,491.80.
According to the report, the money was supposed to be transferred to Brink’s for transport before being deposited into the school’s JPMorgan Chase bank account.
Investigators said they were unable to establish what happened to the missing funds.
Police report details allegations against Poole
The arrest report states that Poole declined to provide a reason for the missing money when questioned by investigators. Honan wrote that he suspected Poole had failed to remit the cash funds for deposit.
The allegations led to a criminal case being filed in Broward County. Poole was not accused simply because the deposits were outstanding; rather, investigators said the money had been collected and that she allegedly failed to provide documentation or account for the funds.
The case remains an allegation, and the criminal charge will now proceed through the court system.
Records show longtime role in Broward schools
Poole’s employment history with Broward County Public Schools stretches back decades, according to records cited in the investigation.
The staff directory for McArthur High School at 6501 Hollywood Boulevard listed Poole, also known as Shauntay Cunningham-Poole, as a Bookkeeper III.
Previous Broward County Public Schools audit reports also listed Cunningham-Poole as a bookkeeper.
A 2022 BCPS audit report and a 2017 BCPS audit report identified her as a bookkeeper for the Whiddon-Rogers Education Center on Southwest 26th Street in Fort Lauderdale.
Her long employment history was also noted in the police report as investigators examined the alleged financial discrepancies.
Poole booked at Broward County jail
Broward corrections booked Poole on Wednesday at the Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.
She was charged with third-degree felony grand theft involving more than $750 and less than $5,000, according to court records. Her bond was set at $2,500.
Aaron Savitski, a spokesman for the Broward County State Attorney’s Office, said the offense carried an automatic bond, meaning Poole did not have to appear before a magistrate court before release.
“This offense is one where an automatic bond is set and she didn’t have to go through magistrate court. A court appearance will be scheduled with the assigned judge,” Savitski wrote in an email to Local 10 News on Thursday.
Court records show Broward County Circuit Judge Francis Viamontes was scheduled to preside over the case.
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