San Jose detectives this week arrested the former president of an organization supporting enrichment programs at a San Jose elementary school on charges she stole $400,000 from the organization.

Investigators said that Tayesha Knight, 51, of San Jose, between 2019 and 2023 wrote approximately 45 fraudulent checks totaling over $400,000 to herself, which she claimed were reimbursement for nonexistent services at Shallenberger Elementary School.

Knight was arrested on Tuesday, April 23, and booked her into the Santa Clara County Jail for the crimes of grand theft and forgery.

The arrest followed an investigation that began on July 20, 2023, when San José police Department received an online police report regarding a potential theft from the Shallenberger Home and School Association, an organization that supports enrichment programs at the Schallenberger Elementary School located in the 1200 block of Koch Lane in south central San Jose..

Detectives from the department’s Financial Crimes Unit discovered that the Home and School Association had “suspicious financial transactions” that occurred between 2019 to 2023, when Knight was the president of the association.

While serving as president of the association, Knight wrote checks to herself “for services that were not rendered,” according to detectives.. Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Knight and a search warrant for her residence.

“San José Unified prides itself on the pillars of honesty and integrity and we take any allegations that run counter to those values very seriously,” the San Jose Unified School District said in a statement. “We look forward to working closely with the District Attorney’s Office and other law enforcement officials as they carry out their duties.”

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact Detective Wellman #4447 of the San José Financial Crimes Unit via email: or (408) 277-4521.