Mentor Woman Accused Of Stealing From Preschool

A Mentor woman is accused of stealing thousands of dollars from a preschool she helped operate.

Stacy Nease, 37, is the former president of the . From 2009 to 2011, she was in charge of the preschool's finances, according to the Mentor Police Facebook page.

During that time, she stole $6,900 from the preschool, police said.

She told Mentor Police that she had borrowed money from the school, intended to pay it back but did not, Lt. Dan Molnar said.

Neace was charged with grand theft and arraigned Monday morning in . Judge John Trebets set her bond at $5,000, which was posted.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 9.

If convicted of grand theft, Nease could spend up to a year in prison.

The Mentor Co-Operative Preschool was founded in 1962 and is entirely funded by fundraising and tuition. Consequently, the preschool is owned by the parents who have children in the school.

While it has teachers that teach the children, parents also participate and donate supplies.

The preschool is housed in Mentor Plains United Methodist Church but it is not directly associated with the church.