Affidavit offers details on thefts from Derby school funds. Former principal charged

A former Derby principal accused of stealing more than $2,000 from school and district hospitality funds told investigators she didn’t want to “admit to something I don’t remember doing,” according to a recently released affidavit.

Ashley Hartley served as principal at El Paso Elementary school in Derby from July 2020 to June 2025, according to the district.

Hartley is accused of stealing a total of $781 from El Paso Elementary School’s hospitality fund, which uses contributions from teachers and staff members to put toward purchases outside the school budget. She’s also accused of stealing more than $1,700 from the USD 260 School District Hospitality Fund.

The accusations came about after two El Paso staff members reported finding missing checks when going through the elementary school fund account for the 2024-2025 school year.

When they requested copies of the checks, they found one dated April 8, 2024, made out to Hartley — then Ashley Wagner — for $500 that contained their forged signatures, according to the affidavit. The check was cashed at Hartley’s bank on April 10, 2024.

Hartley was given an additional $281 by faculty to deposit into the fund, but that amount was never added to the hospitality fund, the affidavit says the staff members told police.

When Hartley was questioned by Derby police, she told investigators that the check was used to help pay for faculty gift baskets and said that she didn’t remember if she had forged the signatures. In the interview, Hartley said she didn’t “want to admit to something that I don’t remember doing,” the affidavit reads, but agreed that the signatures on the checks did not match the staff members’ actual signatures. She also said the responsibility of the school fund was “forced” on her.

Irregularities were reported in the USD 260 hospitality fund, which Hartley also oversaw, from Nov. 22, 2023, through June 12, 2024. That involved one unauthorized cash withdrawal and 11 unauthorized debit card purchases, equaling $560.32. An additional $1,225 was collected by Hartley through Venmo, cash and checks — none of which was deposited into the fund, the affidavit says.

Hartley had set up a Venmo account for donations and told staff members that it would make giving easier, the affidavit says.

Asked by investigators if it was possible she forgot to deposit funds at times, Hartley said yes, according to the affidavit. She also said that “sometimes she would pay out of pocket with her own money and never reimburse herself,” the affidavit says.

Hartley did not provide receipts for what she claimed she purchased for faculty using the fund, the affidavit says. Her bank account records show that money meant for the hospitality fund was deposited into her personal account, with no record of that money being transferred into the hospitality fund, according to the affidavit.

Hartley’s attorney declined to comment on Tuesday.

In March, the Derby school district said it would not comment on personnel issues but “takes all concerns seriously and addresses them in accordance with the law and district policy.”

Hartley is charged with forgery and theft, with her next court hearing set for May 18. Hartley has not yet been arraigned, which is typically the time a defendant would enter a not-guilty plea.

This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 2:57 PM.