MONTROSE, Pa. – A former union treasurer and Montrose Area teacher will spend at least six months behind bars after she stole nearly $100,000 from her teachers union – the Montrose Education Association – over several years.

Cheryl Arnold, 55, pleaded guilty to unlawful taking in December, and arranged a plea agreement that would have resulted in a lesser conviction if she repaid at least $50,000 before her sentencing, but she apparently failed to raise the money, the Scranton Times-Tribune reports.

“Not a red cent is left,” district attorney Jason Legg said, according to the news site. “In two years, she has made no effort to make it right. She had the means to do so and chose not to.”

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Arnold’s attorney told the court the former teacher received a $47,000 retirement severance, but had no income when she lost her teaching job, so the money is now gone, the Times-Tribune reports.

The former Spanish teacher at Montrose Area High School was suspended without pay when authorities launched their investigation in March 2012, according to IndependentWeekender.com.

The Montrose Education Association contends Arnold stole nearly $100,000 in member dues, which became obvious when annual dues payments to its state and national union affiliates became delinquent in 2011, the Times-Tribune reports.

Arnold would withdraw money from the union’s account, and would return the money before disbursements were made, but was unable to return the funds in 2011.

Arnold’s attorney, John Petorak, argued that the amount owed by his client was much lower than the union’s estimate, and said $30,000 in deposits that were unaccounted for in a forensic audit were Arnold’s attempt to repay some of the money, according to the news site.

Petorak said Arnold stole to provide her children with a better life.

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Arnold was sentenced to between six and 23 months for the thefts, which were committed over several years. Arnold will also face another hearing to determine what she will pay in restitution to the union.

The case is a fairly typical product of the union power structure, which funnels a significant amount of money through the hands of a select few individuals with little accountability or oversight. Cases of union officials stealing from their members seem to have become increasingly common in recent years, with many taking hundreds of thousands or more over several years undetected.

The situation is undoubtedly frustrating for rank-and-file teachers and other unionized school employees who continue to watch their hard-earned dues dollars get squandered away while national and state union leaders do little to nothing to address the lax oversight.