A Moon Area High School secretary/bookkeeper accused of stealing almost $30,000 in school funds now faces either a trial or a plea bargain.

Audrey Quel, 41, of Moon, had a preliminary hearing in front of Coraopolis District Judge Mary Murray.

Charges of theft by unlawful taking, theft by deception and theft by failure to make the required disposition of funds were bound over for court.

Ms. Quel, a school district employee since 1993, was hired as the high school's secretary/bookkeeper in August 2007. Among her duties was collecting and recording receipts from sporting events and club fundraisers.

According to an affidavit from the Allegheny County District Attorney's office, the school had an accounting firm go over the books after Ms. Quel failed to explain a number of discrepancies. The firm found $29,310.20 unaccounted for between October 2007 and February 2008.

The largest single discrepancy found was $6,334 from ticket sales to the Oct. 5, 2007, football game; the amount was not recorded in the district's accounting software and was not deposited in the district's bank account.

In other cases, amounts were recorded in the accounting software, but smaller amounts were actually deposited. Those include $6,343 in receipts from eight home basketball games, $4,500 from the junior Winter Ball, $3,022 from the Moonwalkers' Night at the Races, a $4,000 athletics cash advance and smaller amounts from sports physicals, candy sales, hoagie sales, T-shirt sales and other fundraisers.

According to the affidavit, school officials contacted the DA's office in March, leading to the criminal investigation. Ms. Quel was arrested in July. She is free on her own recognizance.