CALAIS – Police aren’t saying much but did confirm Wednesday that they are investigating a theft of funds from Palmer Street School.

“Some funds may have been embezzled and we’ve opened up an investigation,” Police Chief Michael Milburn said Wednesday. He wouldn’t disclose how much money was involved, but said the investigation began last month after police were contacted about a potential problem by Superintendent Jim Underwood of Union 106.

Sgt. David Randall of the Calais Police Department is handling the investigation, Milburn said, and the Hancock-Washington County District Attorney’s Office also has been notified.

“I know it allegedly involved some tuition money,” District Attorney Michael Povich said Wednesday. “It involves money allegedly paid to that school from other municipalities. It is my understanding that outlying schools send their kids to this one school for developmentally disabled kids and they have to pay to send the kids to that school. And I believe it is those types of funds that allegedly have been [embezzled].”

Milburn confirmed Wednesday night that the “school for developmentally disabled kids” that Povich was referring to was in fact Palmer Street School. It is also known as The Calais Children’s Project.

The school opened about seven years ago as a residential care facility. In addition to providing treatment services, the facility, in concert with the Calais school system, provides educational and special education options. The school serves about 20 youngsters from Calais and other Washington County communities.

Dr. Steve Dawson of the Washington County Psychotherapy Association, who helped spearhead bringing the facility to Calais, said Wednesday that the school was a day treatment program that belonged to the city school department.

“We have a subcontract with them where we provide some of the services for them, but it’s the Calais city school system that owns and operates the Calais day treatment program,” he said.

The police chief declined to name suspects, but indicated that some bank records had been subpoenaed.

He said the investigation is expected to take some time.

“What takes so long in this type of investigation is that we have to request subpoenas in order to get bank records,” he said. He would not say whose bank records had been subpoenaed, but said he had not yet received the records he has requested. “It is a long process. The bank has to photocopy the records and go through their security department to authorize the release of them,” he said.

Underwood, who has been on the job as superintendent for the past four years, declined to comment on the investigation.

“What I can say to you is a concern came to my attention involving school accounts, which I investigated,” Underwood said Wednesday. “Based on my investigation I turned the matter over immediately to the Calais Police Department.”

The union comprises Calais, Robbinston, Alexander, Baring and Crawford.

In his 35 years as a police officer in the city, the chief said this was the first time he had handled this type of investigation involving a municipal entity.

The district attorney said it was too early in the investigation to tell if anyone would be arrested, but that potential charges “could be either theft by unauthorized taking which is in the nature of embezzlement or theft by misapplication.”

Diana Graettinger may be reached at bdncalais@verizon.net 454-8228.