Former Derby elementary school principal charged with felony theft

A former Derby elementary school principal is facing charges of forgery and theft and is set to make her first appearance in Sedgwick County District Court on Wednesday.

According to the March 4 complaint, Ashley Hartley, who served as principal at El Paso Elementary School in Derby, is charged with one count each of forgery, felony theft and misdemeanor theft.

The felony theft charge accuses Hartley of stealing between $1,500 and $25,000 from Derby Public School’s hospitality fund. The misdemeanor theft charge accuses Hartley of taking less than $1,500 from El Paso Elementary’s hospitality fund. The complaint does not list the specific amounts of money stolen.

Hartley served as principal at El Paso for about five years, from July 2020 to June 2025, Derby Public Schools confirmed to The Eagle.

“While we cannot comment on individual personnel matters due to confidentiality requirements, Derby Public Schools takes all concerns seriously and addresses them in accordance with the law and district policy,” Derby Public Schools’ Director of Communications Katie Carlson told The Eagle.

The thefts allegedly occurred between Nov. 22, 2023, and May 31, 2025. She is also charged with forging a check in April 2024.

Hartley is represented by C. Ryan Gering of Hulnick, Stang, Gering & Leavitt, documents show. Gering was unavailable for comment on Monday afternoon.

This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 2:20 PM.

Lindsay Smith

The Wichita Eagle

Lindsay Smith is a suburban news reporter for the Wichita Eagle, covering the communities of Andover, Bel Aire, Derby, Haysville and Kechi. She has been on The Eagle staff since 2022 and was the service journalism reporter for three years. She has a degree in communications with an emphasis in journalism from Wichita State, where she was editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Sunflower, for two years. You can reach her via email at lsmith@wichitaeagle.com.