Somers School Board Member Charged With Larceny For Misusing PTO Funds
SOMERS, CT — A member of the Somers Board of Education who formerly served as school board chair was arrested Tuesday on a warrant claiming she misused more than $20,000 of funds belonging to the Somers Parent Teacher Organization during her tenure as that group’s president from 2020 to 2022, state police said.
Marissa Marks, 41, turned herself in at Connecticut State Police Troop C in Tolland early Tuesday afternoon, and was charged with first-degree larceny. She was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond, and is scheduled to appear June 14 in Rockville Superior Court.
Marks, who was the top vote-getter among school board candidates in the 2019 municipal election, was elected chair of that panel on Nov. 22, 2021. She also served on the curriculum committee, as chair of the planning committee and as representative to the Somers Education Foundation, according to published documents.
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She was present and participated fully at the board’s regular meeting on May 8, but resigned on May 22, according to a document listing committee members. She did not give a reason, school board chair Anne Kirkpatrick said in an email to Patch.
According to a heavily-redacted 9-page state police affidavit supporting Marks’ arrest, she was elected PTO president in May 2019. In early November 2021, an annual Scholastic Book Fair was conducted at Somers Elementary School, with all checks and cash given to Marks to deposit.
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The following month, Scholastic Corp., distributor of materials for the book fair, called a PTO officer and stated it had not yet been paid. When asked if it had been paid, Marks replied a check had been mailed. In Feb. 2022, invoices for payment were emailed to the officer, and Marks claimed “the check did not clear, a stop payment was made and a new check was mailed and overnighted,” according to the affidavit.
In June, the PTO’s financial institution reported the organization’s checking account was overdrawn by $1,346.91, and was seeking restitution in that amount. Several unsuccessful attempts to reach Marks were made by the officer to confirm payment had been made to Scholastic, which showed a balance due of $3,784.40, according to the affidavit.
Meanwhile, the spring 2022 book fair took place in mid-March, with all cash and checks given to Marks for deposit. In mid-August, Scholastic sent the officer another outstanding invoice, which Marks claimed had been paid with a bank check, according to the affidavit.
The officer and a bank representative reviewed the PTO checking accounts and “discovered misuse of PTO funds based off of where the debit card transactions were taking place.” It was noted the group “had only one debit card issued and it was in the possession of Marissa Marks from June 2020 until the account was closed in July of 2022,” according to the affidavit.
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A list of suspected unauthorized transactions totaling $12,336.90 was prepared by the officer. It included cash withdrawals totaling $1,400, as well as charges from 40 different outlets ranging from Amazon ($2,393.88) and Costco ($1,825.46) to small amounts from a nail salon, a barber and several restaurants, according to the affidavit.
In August, Marks admitted to the PTO officer “she used the debit card for personal funds and that she was sorry.” On an Oct. 14, 2022 Zoom call, Marks “stated she found the missing $8,514.00 in cash in her kitchen closet at her house and she delivered the cash to the Somers Elementary School office.” At the PTO board meeting in December, the officer said “it was voted on unanimously that the matter would be brought to the Somers Police,” according to the affidavit.
In addition to the suspected unauthorized purchases and the missing cash, bank fees of $1,379.65 were assessed. The total amount taken from the PTO added up to $20,850.90, according to the affidavit.
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