brock062608

Ex-Inver Grove Heights principal sentenced for embezzlement

Sidney Brock was charged in 2006 with embezzling $6,850 to cover overdrafts in a personal checking account.

Last update: June 25, 2008 - 11:46 PM

A former Inver Grove Heights principal was sentenced Tuesday for embezzling funds from South Grove Elementary School and its parent-teacher association.

Sidney Brock was charged in 2006 with embezzling $6,850 to cover overdrafts in a personal checking account.

Brock pleaded guilty in May to one count of theft of public funds. She will serve up to five years of probation, complete 100 hours of community service and pay $425 in restitution related to a school audit, said Monica Jensen, a spokeswoman for the Dakota County Attorney's Office.

Brock repaid the money, which she had transferred to a personal bank account from a school account she created called the "South Grove Principal's Fund," Jensen said. The last repayment check arrived at the Inver Grove Heights School District's office a week after she resigned in June 2006.

The school district had asked for more than $11,000 to cover fees related to the case, but District Court Judge William Thuet said any remaining restitution would have to be determined civilly, according to Jensen.

SARAH LEMAGIE