A prominent Boothbay Harbor woman has been accused of stealing from the Boothbay Region High School Boosters Club.

Heather O’Brien, 43, of Boothbay Harbor was arrested by Boothbay Harbor Police on Thursday, Aug. 13. She has been charged with theft by unauthorized taking or transfer. Police did not release the amount of money allegedly taken.

The Boosters Club is a volunteer parent organization that supports student activities through concession and merchandise sales and other fundraising opportunities. Although the club supports student activities, it is not part of the school and is not managed by the school administration.

O’Brien was the president of the Boosters Club at the time of her arrest; she also was the BRHS girls softball coach. A former Boothbay Harbor Region Chamber of Commerce employee, O’Brien was active in local nonprofit organizations, including Kickstart Stables and the Windjammers Days Committee. O’Brien is also well-known locally for her efforts to promote local business and tourism.

O’Brien was not only Boosters Club president, she was also the only active board member, according to the school and former club board members.

Tracy Smith, who formerly served as a board member, but has not been active in the club for the last year and a half, said she was contacted by the bank on July 23 and told the club’s account was overdrawn. Smith said she immediately reported that information to BRHS Principal Dan Welch.

School Superintendent Eileen King said when she became aware of the concerns she contacted the bank.

“I met with the bank and did an internal review of the account. There were enough concerns raised by that review that I turned the matter over to the police,” King said.

King said the Boosters Club, like Project Graduation and other volunteer parent groups, is separate from the school organization and is not managed by the school.

“This is not an account the school oversees,” King said. “Going forward I’ve asked Dan Welch and Allan Crocker (BRHS athletic director) to work with the Boosters board to keep the Boosters active and to restructure so that appropriate internal controls are in place.”

King said the school will also advise other volunteer groups that support school activities to establish accounting controls similar to those used by the school administration.

One fallout of the theft allegation is the Boosters may no longer be able to use the school’s tax ID number for tax-exempt purchasing.

“It’s a small community, and they do so much good. By using the school tax ID, they were able to save the costs of obtaining nonprofit status. We may have to change that protocol,” King said.

Smith said the Boosters will need to rebuild, restructure and engage more volunteers if the organization is to survive. She said the Snack Shack will be open for the first BRHS exhibition football game against Old Orchard Beach on Friday, Aug. 28.

“We will go ahead as usual and hope for the community’s support,” Smith said.

O’Brien was released on bail and is scheduled to be arraigned in Lincoln County Superior Court in October. As of press time, attempts to contact O’Brien were not successful.