Was placed on administrative leave

Lawrence County Educational Services Center treasurer Teresa Lawless is under investigation by the state auditor’s office since early December. She was immediately placed on administrative leave by the center until the conclusion of the investigation.

“The state auditor came in and informed us they were going to investigate her records,” Phil Carpenter, president of the center’s board, said. “To protect her, we put her on administrative leave.”

Carpenter said the state didn’t say what they were looking for, but the center was not aware of any problems and was taken by surprise by the audit.

“It was a shock. No one knew it was coming,” he said. “Hopefully there’s nothing there and it’s just a misunderstanding. We’re at a standstill until they can give us the results, but we’re fully cooperating with the state.”

Lawless has served as treasurer of the Lawrence County Educational Services Center for more than 10 years.