Woman accused of spending Mesa school PTO's money for personal expenses: PD

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Published August 28, 2026 2:22 PM MST

The Brief

    • Police in Mesa say Chandra Cushman is accused of stealing from the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of Whitman Elementary School.
    • Investigators allege that Cushman, who once served as the PTO's treasurer, took over $9,000 via unauthorized transactions.
    • The money, investigators allege, was used by Cushman on personal expenses and purchases.

MESA, Ariz. - Mesa Police say the ex-treasurer of an elementary school's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) is accused of using the group's money for personal purposes.

What we know:

In a statement released on Aug. 28, the suspect was identified as Chandra Cushman.

Police say an investigation on the matter began on Jan. 17, 2025, when school administration made a report on alleged credit card fraud involving the PTO's account.

"During the course of the investigation, detectives found that Chandra Cushman was elected Treasurer of the Whitman Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) in August 2022," read a portion of the statement. "As Treasurer, she was responsible for managing the organization's finances and was added as a signer to the PTO's Wells Fargo account and issued a debit card for PTO-related expenses. Cushman remained in the position until she was removed in January 2025."

By the numbers:

In their statement, investigators say they found the following:

  • Cushman allegedly "withdrew cash from the Whitman PTO account and then deposited some or all of those funds into her own Wells Fargo account at the same Wells Fargo branch location, totaling $5,140.00." on 10 instances from Feb. 1, 2023 to Dec. 9, 2024.
  • Cushman allegedly using the PTO's debit card to purchase Disney On Ice tickets for herself and her daughter on Oct. 31, 2023, totaling $218.3.
  • Cushman allegedly using the card for car repairs in July and August 2024, totaling $373.81 and $472.74.
  • Cushman allegedly using the card to make apartment rent payments, totaling $3,468.24, between Nov. 2, 2023 and Dec. 23, 2024.
  • Two "unknown wireless lease payments of $85.02 each" on Nov. 12, 2024 and Jan. 7, 2025.

"The total amount of the alleged unauthorized transactions was $9,843.13," officials wrote.

Dig deeper:

Cushman, according to police, was removed from the PTO's treasurer position in January 2025. During a voluntary interview, Cushman "admitted to using the PTO account and debit card for personal expenses."

Police say detectives filed a criminal complaint against Cushman on May 20, 2026, accusing her of felony theft.

The Source: Information for this article was gathered from a statement released by the Mesa Police Department.

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