The former superintendent of the Green Ridge R-VIII School District entered a not guilty plea Tuesday morning.
Cara Easter, of Green Ridge, appeared at the Pettis County Courthouse before Judge Jeff Mittelhauser where she waived her right to a formal arraignment and entered a not guilty plea, according to online court documents. Easter was charged in late January with six counts of fraudulent use of a credit device less than $500.
Easter has been accused of fraudulently using almost $2,000 in school funds as superintendent in 2016. The Board of Education contacted the Pettis County Sheriff’s Office in August when the district’s bookkeeper noticed charges that were “out of the ordinary” while reviewing Easter’s monthly purchase card log, court documents state.
She was asked to compiled a list of her 2016 expenses, and was put on administrative leave in mid-August. About a month later, the board accepted Easter’s resignation from the district.
The expense list states Easter attended professional conferences or workshops on six different occasions in 2016, totaling $1,891.49, but a Pettis County detective discovered none of the events actually occurred, court documents state.
Another hearing for Easter has been scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 28.
