A volunteer bookkeeper at Everett’s Zion Lutheran School was charged Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court with one count of first-degree theft for allegedly taking nearly $31,000 from school bank accounts.

Jennifer Lynn Pearson, 37, was one of two people authorized to sign checks on the account for the annual school auction, deputy prosecutor David Hiltner said. Normally, there was no reason for any checks to be written on the account because the auction funds are supposed to be transferred to another school account, he said.

Two people complained that their credit cards had been charged twice following a school auction, prompting an investigation that uncovered a total shortfall of $30,981, Hiltner said.

It also appeared that no auction money was transferred to the school in 2004. Instead, authorities found numerous cash withdrawals and checks made payable to Pearson totaling $20,000.

Checks also were made out to Pearson’s creditors totaling about $19,000. School officials also learned that about $8,000 of Pearson’s money had been deposited into one of the school accounts, Hiltner said.

The unauthorized checks were written between February 2003 and November 2004, Hiltner said.

At the time the checks were written, Pearson was enrolled in a court diversion program for a 2001 theft allegation, Hiltner said.