According to school officials, police, and prosecutors, Lydia Johnson stole several thousand dollars from Dakota High School's homecoming dance fund, and from funds for a camping trip. And she blew it as part of the more than $90,000 she spent last year playing penny slots at MGM Grand Detroit casino, Macomb County authorities said today. A search of her classroom revealed several casino receipts next to the open and empty homecoming envelopes, Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a news release. “This teacher held a position of trust within the high school,” Smith said in a statement. “She repaid that trust by feeding student funds into a slot machine.” 
 
 Johnson, 29, of Macomb Township, was this morning in 41-A District Court in Shelby Township on one count of embezzlement from a nonprofit organization, $1,000 to $20,000, a felony that carries up to 10 years in prison if convicted. A judge set her bond at $10,000 and scheduled her next court appearance for Oct. 5. Johnson was the school's student activity coordinator from July 1, 2016 until her recent removal and was responsible for incoming and outgoing funds related to student events, according to the prosecutor's office. Johnson was placed on administrative leave May 3 when district administrators discovered some accounting discrepancies in the school's activities fund, according to a news release from Chippewa Valley Schools. “We will do whatever it takes to ensure that our board policies are followed and that our employees are acting in the best interest of our school community," said Ron Roberts, the district's superintendent. Authorities say Johnson oversaw the ticket sales for Dakota's 2016 Homecoming dance, and that, based on attendance, the ticket sales should have taken in nearly $30,000. Smith said ticket sales for the dance totaled nearly $30,000, but she deposited only $11,000 into the school's Homecoming Dance bank account. Investigators searched Johnson's classroom and found several cash deposit envelopes that were torn open and emptied. School authorities say they found empty homecoming deposit envelopes in her classroom, and that her bank records show cash deposits far in excess of her salary. Johnson also oversaw ticket sales and receipts for a 60-person student and parent trip to Tamarack Camps last year. She also oversaw the collection of $13,000 in fees for a student trip to a camp, officials said. Johnson is accused of depositing only about $500 for the school. When the camp was unable to collect its money from the school, its staff contacted the Chippewa Valley Schools district. An internal investigation by district officials "yielded more questions than answers" and the sheriff's office was contacted, according to the prosecutor's office. cramirez@detroitnews.com 
 
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– Last year, Lydia Johnson is said to have blown $90,000 at the MGM Grand Detroit casino, which would be a lot of your own money to lose, let alone someone else's. And a chunk of it was allegedly someone else's. Macomb County authorities say the 29-year-old Dakota High School teacher handled cash as the student activity coordinator. Based on 2016 homecoming dance attendance records, school officials and authorities say $30,000 or so should have come in, yet the the Detroit Free Press reports Johnson only deposited $11,000 into the school's homecoming account. Prosecutor Eric Smith said in a release that empty envelopes believed to have held homecoming cash were found in her classroom, with casino receipts nearby. Meanwhile, Johnson deposited just $500 for a student-parent trip to Tamarack Camps that should have brought in about $13,000. School officials uncovered things were amiss after Tamarack Camps started trying to collect money it was owed; the school then contacted the sheriff's office. Per WJBK, MGM Grand Detroit records indicated Johnson spent more than $90,000 on penny slots during 2016. Smith says when her personal bank account was examined, it showed deposits that would have been far and above what she made as a math and Spanish teacher at the school. Johnson was placed on administrative leave in early May, with the grand total she's accused of stealing running close to $32,000, the Detroit News reports. She now faces a felony charge of embezzlement from a nonprofit, which could earn her 10 years in prison if she's convicted.