A Lakeside Elementary School secretary has resigned and school district officials are investigating what happened to more than $10,000 in teachers’ union funds.

The Somers/Lakeside School Board accepted Sandy Hawkes’ resignation at its June 5 meeting in Somers.

Superintendent Paul Jenkins said no charges have been filed yet against Hawkes, who was a school secretary at the Lakeside Elementary School for six years.

Jenkins said the local teachers’ union checking account is missing more than $10,000, and Hawkes allegedly had access to the account as secretary and treasurer of the Somers classified union.

A Flathead County Sheriff’s Office investigation has been completed and turned over to the office of Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan.

Corrigan said Friday that he expects his office to request charges against Hawkes to be filed sometime next week.

Jenkins said a cash box also is missing from a December basketball tournament in Lakeside. Money is missing from a lunch account, as well as a Quarters for Critters fundraiser.

“We don’t have a full figure yet, but it’s in the thousands of dollars” missing, Jenkins said. “We have a lot of unanswered questions.”

Jenkins said Hawkes admitted taking $160 from the yearbook fund. “It will be hard to pin” where some of the missing money may have gone, Jenkins said.  

“We have reviewed practices to make sure we’re doing everything correctly,” Jenkins said. “We’re going to look at it even more closely. Obviously there are a couple of holes there that we have to close.”

Reese is the editor of the Bigfork Eagle.