CHICORA — A suspended Moniteau School District teacher accused of taking money from a Karns City elementary basketball booster program no longer is facing a felony charge in her criminal case.

But Wendy J. Taylor, 40, of Donegal Township, still is charged with three misdemeanors.

Taylor waived her preliminary hearing Tuesday at the office of District Judge Lewis Stoughton in Chicora after prosecutors agreed to reduce one of the charges — access device fraud — from a felony to a misdemeanor.

That decision, in part, was made on the recommendation of the state police investigator and because Taylor has paid back some of the allegedly stolen money, Butler County assistant district attorney Russ Karl said Wednesday.

Taylor's attorney, Michael Zunder, did not return a telephone call.

Police arrested Taylor, a special-education teacher, Sept. 23 at Moniteau High School, accusing her of taking $673 from the youth basketball program's bank account between Aug. 1 and Aug. 27.

Taylor, who lives in the Karns City Area School District, ran the program for four years, police said. The program is not affiliated with the school district.

She allegedly used the money to buy groceries and other personal items, pay a cellphone bill and make an ATM withdrawal.

Following her arrest, she was arraigned on a felony charge of access device fraud and misdemeanor charges of theft by unlawful taking and theft by failing to make required disposition of funds.

She later was released on $10,000 bail and placed on pretrial supervision.

The amount of money that Taylor is accused of taking was one of the factors in the subsequent decision to change the grading of the access fraud charge. Under state law, the charge is a third-degree felony if the value of the fraudulent purchases is greater than $500. It's a first-degree misdemeanor if the value is between $50 and $500.

The amount for which Taylor is suspected of taking was “just over the limit” of the misdemeanor grading, Karl said, explaining the decision to reduce the felony charge against her.

“She's also cooperating (with authorities) and she's paid back a lot of the funds,” he added.

Trooper Brian Knirnschild, the lead investigator, said Thursday that the investigation is ongoing. He noted that a review of the program's bank account records since the initial charges were filed showed Taylor used additional money for purposes other than the basketball boosters, including for a car wash, groceries, fast food and ATM withdrawals. “At this point,” he said, “approximately an additional $1,000 of misused funds has been discovered dating back to August 2018, and the investigation is continuing.”

After prosecutors agreed to reduce the felony charge, Stoughton removed her from pretrial supervision.

Taylor, a 14-year teacher at Moniteau, was suspended with pay in the wake of the charges. That status remains, pending the resolution of the case, Superintendent Sean Arney said Thursday.

Wendy Taylor