An employee working for a contractor hired by the Vicksburg-Warren School District faces a charge of grand larceny in the reported theft of money belonging to the Bovina Elementary PTO.

Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said Jacqueline Watson, 56, 2529 Pearl St., an employee for a contractor hired to clean the school, was arrested Monday afternoon at her home without incident by sheriff’s deputies.

She was being held without bail at the Warren County Jail pending an initial appearance Tuesday in Justice Court. Pace said she was cooperating with investigators.

He said the arrest comes after an investigation that began last week after PTO officials discovered the theft during an internal audit and called authorities.

“This case does not involve any school district employees or money belonging to the school district,” he said. “This was money collected by the school’s Parent Teacher Organization and is separate from the school.”

Pace declined to comment on other specifics in the case except to say the money was taken from a drop box used to collect donations and money from fundraisers “and involved several thousand dollars.”