Ex-Principal who stole over $100K sentenced to 4 years

SENTENCING UPDATE: Ex-Principal who stole over $100K sentenced to 4 years

Ginger Collins pled guilty to stealing more than $100,000 while she was an administrator at McKeel Academy and Kathleen Middle School.

Ginger Collins, 46, of Lakeland.

Collins has already paid approximately $90,000 in restitution.

She was sentenced Tuesday to four years in state prison, followed by three years of probation. The remaining $16,000 was ordered to be paid while she is on probation.

Collins was arrested in January 2017 for stealing more than $83,000 from McKeel Academy. While she was entrusted with three school credit cards, Collins paid for personal bills, luxury items, and travel both in and out of the country.

Additional charges were added July 2017 when Kathleen Middle School realized 14 of the school’s iPad’s, valued at $10,000, were missing. Collins had stolen them before she resigned as Principal, and she sold them online for profit.

She also had possession of a Polk County School Board credit card and bought personal items, crediting her bank accounts with about $20,000. Collins created false invoices to cover up her purchases at both schools.