Brenda Pearce turned herself in Monday morning at the Wake County Jail. She posted a $10,000 secured bond and was released from jail Monday night.
The 40-year-old Pearce confessed to taking nearly $7,000 from Zebulon Middle School over a three-year period, when she worked there as a teacher's assistant. She claimed that she needed the money to pay bills.
School security initially suspected Pearce of stealing merchandise that was ordered for another teacher. But when they took a closer look, they uncovered a trail of financial misdeeds.
Police say Pearce had access to the school's checking account, its yearbook funds, which she was in charge of, and the school store.
An employee of the school district since September 1998, Pearce resigned her position at the school last week. Her salary at the time of her resignation was $16,446.
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