Cherry Hill woman charged with theft from church

A Cherry Hill school board member has been charged with stealing more than $70,000 from her church, where she served as treasurer, police said Tuesday.

Lynette Howard used First Baptist Church of Cherry Hill's funds to cover personal expenses, said Lt. Bill Kushina. She surrendered to police on Monday, a little more than three months after church officials filed a police report about financial discrepancies, he said.

She was released on a theft-by-deception charge pending an Oct. 27 court date.

Howard, 49, an active parent in the Cherry Hill school district, was elected in April to serve a three-year term on the township school board.

Reached on her cell phone, Howard, who lives on West Ormond Avenue, declined to comment.

Kushina did not release details on how and when the roughly $70,186 disappeared from the church.

Howard worked part time at the church after losing her job as a financial planner in January 2008, according to a 2009 story in the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill.

Howard was no longer serving as treasurer at First Baptist at the time of her arrest, Kushina said.

When a new person took over the duties earlier this year, church officials noticed financial discrepancies after they received copies of bank records, Kushina said.

Howard had joined First Baptist almost 20 years ago, said one member. Ken Giannone, chairman of the deacon board of the 50-member congregation, declined to comment Tuesday.

District spokeswoman Susan Bastnagel said district officials were aware of the charges; she noted the charges were unrelated to Howard's service on the board.

"We can't comment at this time on her future as a member of the board," said Bastnagel.

Howard finished with 6,755 votes in the school board election.

Howard is the diversity chair of the New Jersey PTA, according to the organization's website.

She also has served as president of the Clara Barton Elementary School PTA and the Cherry Hill Zone PTA, which is made up of representatives of PTAs of each district school, according to the Courier-Post.