Teacher arrested while she was in process of being hired in Maine

    CONWAY, New Hampshire (WMTW) -- A teacher who was in the process of being hired by a Maine school district was arrested in New Hampshire on theft and forgery charges.

Conway police arrested 43-year-old Holly Fougere on Thursday, saying she stole money from arts programs at Kennett High School by redirecting checks into a personal bank account.

Fougere turned herself in to police on Thursday. She is charged with theft by misapplication of property and seven counts of forgery.

On Monday last week, Fougere was appointed by the RSU 21 school board to be the Interim Theater Teacher at Kennebunk High School.

A spokesperson for RSU 21 told Maine's Total Coverage Monday morning that Fougere was not currently under contract with the district because she had not yet signed her contract with the district prior to her arrest in New Hampshire.

In a statement released later Monday, Superintendent Terri Cooper said she had not yet offered a job to Fougere, even though she had been authorized by the school board to do so.

"Given the uncertainty around this situation, I have decided not to offer an employment contract to the candidate," Cooper wrote. "At the time the candidate applied, she underwent our standard comprehensive hiring process, including thorough background and reference checks. These checks revealed no disqualifying information at the time. The district had no knowledge of the alleged conduct when the School Board approved her appointment as this came to light very recently."

According to school board documents, Fougere earned a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Maine and a Master of Education in Integrated Arts from Plymouth State University and was scheduled to earn an annual salary of $86,392 at Kennebunk High School.

Fougere is expected to be arraigned in March.