An Oceanside elementary school principal pleaded guilty Tuesday to stealing nearly $50,000 from her school district and the school's parent-teacher organization.
Paulette Thomson, 59, took the money while she was the principal of San Luis Rey Elementary School, according to prosecutors. She could receive probation or as much as three years, eight months in prison when she is sentenced Feb. 4.
Thompson has been on leave from her job at Reynolds Elementary since February. Before that, she was principal at San Luis Rey Elementary School. According to investigators, the Oceanside Unified School District officials started investigating Thompson after irregularities were uncovered during an audit of the PTO.