Troutdale, OREGON

Oct 1, 2007 - Convicted of five counts of first-degree aggravated theft, Cheryl Ann Cooper, 55, an accounting teacher at Reynolds High School, was sentenced to five years'probation.

Her attorney told the judge about his client's bum knees, her depression, her insomnia and the powerful addiction to gambling that led her to steal more than $200,000 in teachers' union dues. She has paid back $100,000, as a measure of her remorse.

She sold her house, cashed in her pension, and is paying the union $1,000 a month and she will double the amount when her Social Security disability payments start arriving.

TT - Wait. Aren't those disability payments taxpayer money?

Reynolds High School is one of those schools adopting Mexico's public school curriculum to help educate Spanish-speaking students. At American taxpayer expense.