Former Beaverdam Elementary School bookkeeper sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling over $35K

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- A former administrative assistant who served as the bookkeeper at Beaverdam Elementary School in Hanover County was sentenced to two years in prison for embezzling over $35,000.

On Jan. 9, 2026, Kara Melton, the former administrative assistant of roughly four and a half years who served as the bookkeeper at Beaverdam Elementary School, was sentenced to 10 years in prison with eight years suspended, for an effective sentence of two years, for two counts of embezzlement, according to court records.

Background

On March 8, 2024, Angela Baxter, Hanover County Internal Audit Director, submitted a summary report to then-superintendent of Hanover County Public Schools Michael B. Gill, regarding an allegation made to the county's Fraud, Waste and Abuse Hotline.

According to the summary report, on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024, the county's Internal Audit office was notified that Melton was confronted with falsifying her timesheets, which she reportedly admitted to.

The Hanover County School Board Office reportedly requested that the Internal Audit office investigate payroll records, the use of school activity funds and more.

Total funds

Due to poor documentation, the Internal Audit office said it was not able to determine the exact amount of funds that Melton misappropriated, but said evidence points to the embezzlement of at least $35,599 through the following:

• Falsified timesheets
• Falsified and forged checks
• Misused purchasing card transactions
• Skimmed deposits from a book fair

The Internal Audit office said in the report that it's possible Melton misappropriated additional funds through a snack cart she operated at the school, but said an exact dollar amount was not determined.

Timesheets

Melton reportedly recorded 234.5 hours of "questionable time," for which she was paid $4,783.

According to the report, the Internal Audit office confirmed that Melton falsified timesheets by allegedly impersonating a supervisor in the payroll system to adjust her timesheet for additional pay or pay for time she did not work.

The report said Melton also did not punch in and out, and she reportedly clocked in remotely before her commute, which she was not authorized to do.

In addition, the Internal Audit office said Melton forged Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) paperwork that she submitted to the Hanover County School Board Office.

The report said Melton's previous position at the elementary school gave her access to the Workforce Manager suite license, which she allegedly kept, which was against policy but not enforced, and used the license to falsify her time records.

Melton was then fired from the position on Jan. 24, 2024, according to the report, and the matter was referred to the Hanover County Sheriff's Office.

Checks

In addition to falsified timesheets, the Internal Audit office said Melton wrote forged checks through the elementary school's Student Activity Fund Account for a total of $18,800.

The Internal Audit office also reviewed employee purchasing card (P-card) transactions and found "inappropriate purchases" that reportedly began in April 2023, including discrepancies in the description of items purchased and sales tax paid on some personal purchases.

P-card

The office said Melton misappropriated at least $10,700 by misusing the school's P-card to buy items for personal use, through which she reportedly "deprived the school of resources."

Melton reportedly did not provide receipts or misplaced them several times, in violation of the school division's policy.

2023 Scholastic Book Fair

A discrepancy was also noted between the invoice for the elementary school's 2023 Scholastic Book Fair and the actual deposits. The report said the invoice showed cash and checks totaling $5,993.75, but deposits only totaled $4,677.04 -- a difference of $1,316.71.

The Internal Audit office noted several issues with the school system's procedures for handling checks for student activity funds, and found that there was no record of Melton attending training for the matter. The office also noted that the school division lacked documentation and record-keeping practices, "allowing the fraud to be easily concealed."

Hanover Schools' response

Hanover County Public Schools assistant superintendent Chris Whitley provided the following statement to 8News regarding Melton's sentencing:

Ms. Melton was employed with Hanover County Public Schools as an Administrative Assistant from July 16, 2019 to January 24, 2024. While our policy prohibits the release of further details concerning personnel-related matters, we, of course, take this matter very seriously. Once discovered, we took swift action and made the proper notifications and referrals for further investigation and to ensure compliance with relevant policies. We worked closely and in full cooperation with our valued partners at the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office, Hanover Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, and Hanover County Internal Audit. 

As a school division, we recognize the importance of fiscal responsibility and stewardship. We take this professional responsibility very seriously. We have offered additional training to those tasked with administering funds and have continued to emphasize the importance of transparency, accountability, and adherence to established financial procedures, among other steps. Through this work, we help to ensure that public resources are used effectively to support students and staff, as well as to foster trust within our broader community.

Our response to the audit report, which details specific and additional controls that we have implemented, can be found here. Please note that personnel information has been redacted in accordance with § 2.2-3705.1 (1) of the Code of Virginia Hanover Schools assistant superintendent Chris Whitley