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Parkway school board members voted on Jan. 19 to not renew Debbie Pierce's contract and to place her on administrative leave. Pierce had served as the treasurer for the district since 2008.
ROCKFORD - The Parkway school district's longtime treasurer allegedly used the school's Amazon account to make personal purchases, according to a complaint obtained by The Daily Standard through a public records request, leading the school board to not renew her contract and place her on paid administrative leave.
On Nov. 11, superintendent Laura Young emailed the state auditor's Special Investigation Unit claiming Debbie Pierce used the school's Amazon account to make personal purchases tax-free from 2018-2020.
However, Pierce, who has been with the district for 18 years, denied any wrongdoing and said she paid for all purchases with her own funds and paid sales tax for the purchases, even citing an email from Amazon that she says provides documentation.
Parkway school board members voted on Jan. 19 to not renew Pierce's contract and placed her on paid administrative leave. That decision came after the board met in executive session during a special meeting to discuss Pierce's employment.
"It was discovered the week of October 27, 2025 that during the years of 2018, 2019 and 2020 Debbie utilized the school's Amazon Business Account to make personal purchases," Young said in an emailed complaint to the Special Investigations Unit. "This was discovered by our Technology Director who was searching for an item he had previously purchased and he came across furniture, a boat cover, toys, groceries, and more. These items were shipped to her, her ex-husband or her two daughters. It has not been ascertained whether she utilized her personal credit card(s) or utilized school funds. At any rate it appears she purchased most items tax free."
In the complaint, Young provided the auditor's office the complete Amazon order history from 2018-2020.
Pierce allegedly spent $16,319.21 over the three years on personal purchases. According to a statement from the auditor's office, she used her personal credit card but did not pay sales taxes. Not paying sales tax on the purchases would have allegedly saved Pierce $1,183.14, meaning she should have paid $17,502.35.
Notable purchases include a Dyson hand dryer for $825, a range hood wall mount for $320, a children's dresser for $300, a golf cart battery charger for $295, adjustable dumbbells for $249, two Chromebooks for $216 each and a play kitchen for $198. Less expensive but still high-ticket items include tablets, electronics, an iPod Touch, a futon, box springs, boating equipment, a baby cradle swing, a pole saw, kitchen appliances and utensils, crib bedding and two camcorders. Other smaller items included toys, clothing, party decorations, groceries, beauty supplies, pet supplies, shoes, cleaning supplies, bedding and home decor.
Young said in the email she filed a police report.
Parkway Local Schools school resource officer Paul May said he had briefly investigated the claim and spoke with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office. Because the state auditor's office was involved, May said the prosecutor decided to step back. He hasn't heard an update whether or not Pierce will face criminal charges.
As late as Tuesday evening, Pierce maintained she purchased everything with her own credit card and paid sales tax. She confirmed the purchases listed above were hers.
"What happened was I used my school email address for my own personal Amazon account for years," Pierce said. "I never thought twice about it. Then, we got a business account at Parkway, so I told Tina, who was my assistant at the time, 'Well, I can't use my address because I already use my email address for my personal Amazon Prime account' and she said, 'Oh that's fine. I'll just use mine.' So that was great. That worked for, I don't know, 10 years. Well then Tina retired and Lynn became my assistant. Lynn used her school email address. She was only there one year. Now I don't have an assistant, so I really didn't have any choice but to use mine. When I switched to pierced@parkwayschools.org for my Amazon business account, I switched my personal account to … I made a new email account for my personal email and I switched it to that. Well now my personal (order) history shows up on the Parkway account."
Pierce said when she realized what it looked like, that it appeared as if she used the school's Amazon account to avoid sales tax, she talked with the retailer and stressed she made the purchases, including sales tax, with her personal credit card. According to Pierce, an Amazon representative worked with her and removed her order history associated with her school email until 2020. He couldn't access any purchases earlier than that.
Pierce supplied The Daily Standard an email from Amazon dated Nov. 20, 2025, that appears to clarify the purchases.
"This is Belle, one of the Customer Service Associates from Amazon," the email reads. "This email will serve as a documentation that Ms. Debra Pierce has purchased and ordered and paid their taxes on their own personal account and card which just happens to be the email now being used for the business account."
The email provides an example of a purchase for a construction truck toy set for $34.95. Pierce paid $2.36 in sales tax for a total of $37.31.
"The bottom line is, I didn't do what I was accused of doing," Pierce said in an email to former board president Deb Call.
"I don't understand how anybody would have a problem with that other than I shouldn't have used my school email account, but I think a lot of people do that, especially back in 2018," Pierce said on Tuesday.
When asked why Pierce used her school email to create an Amazon account, she said that was the only email she ever really used as it was her work email.
"Why would I, you know, ruin … the whole thing is ludicrous, to get out of paying sales tax," Pierce said. "I'm denying that I ever misused funds. I'm denying that I ever used the school's Amazon account for personal purchases. I regret using pierced@parkwayschools.org to set up my own personal Amazon Prime account, but I don't think there's anything illegal about that."
On Dec. 3, Brandy Reed, assistant chief forensic auditor with the state auditor's office emailed Young an update to the case.
"Since the matter is currently being investigated by the Ohio Department of Taxation in conjunction with the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office, we will allow those agencies to handle the investigation and have the financial auditors follow up with school officials regarding the status of the investigation etc., when they come in to do the regular financial audit," Reed wrote.
Cheryl Gray, complaint intake with the state office, also emailed Young.
"SIU reviews complaints to determine whether they are within the jurisdiction of the Auditor of State's Office, contain sufficient evidence of potential crimes that warrant the opening of a preliminary audit and investigation, or should be reviewed as a part of the regular financial audit," Gray wrote to Young on Dec. 3. "This matter was reviewed, and SIU decided to: 1. Refer this matter to the Auditor of State's West Region to follow this matter and to consult with the Auditor of State's Legal Division."
On Jan. 19 the Parkway school board met in executive session during a special meeting to discuss Pierce's employment. School board members then voted to not renew Pierce's contract and placed her on paid administrative leave.
"At its meeting … the Parkway Local School District Board of Education voted not to renew treasurer Debbie Pierce's contract upon its expiration on July 31, and to place Miss Pierce on paid administrative leave, effective Feb. 1," Young said in a prepared statement.
Board members subsequently appointed Kurt Wendell as interim treasurer, and Sherry Schaefer as interim assistant treasurer, effective Feb. 1, per Young's statement.
"The board's decision reflects its responsibility to act in the best interest of the district. The board appreciates Miss Pierce's service and thanks her for her contributions," the statement concludes.
A complaint filed with the state auditor's office by Superintendent Laura Young, right, alleged Pierce used the school's Amazon business account to make personal purchases. Pierce provided an email from an Amazon staffer saying purchases were made on her "own personal account and card," above.
As of now, Pierce said she is still on paid administrative leave until she retires in about six months. She said she is still employed by the school.
"The strange thing is the auditor's office and the department of taxation, no one has contacted me," Pierce said.
Pierce said the board has not said anything to her or given her any directive.
In fact, she said Young threw Pierce a luncheon on her last day, as she retires soon.
"It was on my last day," she said. "Administrators came down. It was fun. There were cake and sandwiches. We all visited and laughed."
Pierce speculated that the Amazon account has nothing to do with the decision and the board is trying to pacify the teachers union.
"I really feel like it has more to do with the union, the teachers union. They were upset because they got paper checks instead of direct deposit. So, I mean, to me, that is the crux of the issue. This whole Amazon thing, there's nothing to it."
Pierce said she feels blindsided after having spent more than a decade serving the district.
"It is frustrating for me because after putting 17-18 years at Parkway and even longer than that in this field, and being one year away from retirement for them to pull this," she said. "It is frustrating. I had every intention of retiring at Parkway, but they felt like they had to do what they had to do. I don't know if they don't really understand the legality of it or what happened."
Pierce said when she would ask the board for clarification, it said it couldn't comment on an ongoing investigation.
"I kind of thought it was a done deal and that it was over and done with because there's nothing for the auditor's office to find."
Young declined to comment. Board president Amanda Peel didn't return messages asking for a comment.
Pierce was first hired by Parkway in 2008. When her contact was renewed for three years on Aug. 1, 2023, her annual salary for the 2025-2026 contract year was $113,538.76 with estimated benefits totaling $64,211.74.
Up until 2025, her evaluations from the board were positive.
For example, a board member in 2015 said, "Debbie does a great job with presenting to the board the financial status of the district. If Debbie doesn't know the answer, she will research and find the answer in a timely manner. Debbie is an asset to the district. Thank you for all you do."
On Dec. 10, 2025, board members appeared to be dissatisfied with Pierce's performance, citing a lack of interest and being unwelcoming at times. They claimed Pierce was hostile and difficult to work with.
One comment said Pierce had "previous and continued use" of school email account "for personal use and personal shopping on school time."
When asked why her evaluations were negative in May and December, Pierce said she didn't know and the board didn't provide constructive criticism on what she could have done better. She thinks the evaluations were calculated.
"I think the board felt that they needed two negative evaluations six months apart to justify non-renewing my contract," she said.
She receive her bachelor's degree in business administration from California State University with an option in accountancy. She has her Certified Public Accountant License and an Ohio School Treasurer's License.
