ASTON — In September 2004, then-Penn Delco School Board President Keith Crego asked the state Department of Community and Economic Development for a $100,000 grant to enhance the district’s technology programs.

“This project is of vital importance to the schools and community,” he wrote, in his other official capacity as the executive director of the Penn-Delco Educational and Cultural Foundation.

The state came up with the money. But it was spent, instead, on landscaping projects at the high school, which included a $32,355 statue of the Sun Valley Griffin, the school’s mascot, and memorial bricks and landscaping for the Sun Valley High School Alumni walk, according to foundation records.

Now, the state has declared the foundation “in breach” of its contract and wants all the money back — plus interest.

A letter from Community and Economic Development Department Chief Counsel Gayle A. Elder to the district and the foundation cuts the district and foundation off from any new funding and demands repayment of $100,801 by April 19.

“Failure to repay the full amount, or otherwise enter into acceptable repayment arrangements with this office, shall result in the initiation of litigation to recover this debt … THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT,” the letter states, the last phrase in bold letters.

Crego, who was also the former vice chairman of the Aston Republican Party, is serving a one- to two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in January to five felony counts including bribery and state Ethics Act violations, mostly for surreptitiously setting up a pre- and after-school program for the district in which he had a financial interest.

State Rep. Steve Barrar, R-160, of Upper Chichester, who helped the foundation win the grant, said Saturday he’ll do what he can to straighten out the mess.

Complicating the situation is the fact that the foundation only has $10,000 to $11,000 left in its bank account, and still owes DGS Landscaping, the firm which did the work at the high school, some $24,400, according to foundation records. DGS has already been paid $45,583, according to foundation close-out tallies.

And when Crego submitted the grant application on Penn-Delco School District letterhead, he used the school district’s tax-exempt identification number because the foundation didn’t have one yet.

“First of all, we have to establish who exactly is responsible for repayment of the grant,” Barrar said. “The district is involved because its tax ID number was used.”

Barrar said he’ll meet with DCED officials to try to work out a solution. “I am going to try to do everything in my power to resolve this matter,” he said.

Current foundation board members said in a statement that they have retained an attorney and are anxious for a resolution, as well.

The foundation was established in July 2003 as a nonprofit fundraising arm separate from the school district. It solicited funds to provide supplemental resources for improvements to enhance the district’s educational experience beyond those earmarked in the district’s budget.

Among other projects, the foundation contributed to the Pennell Elementary School Playground Fund, bought calculators for needy students, gave $9,000 to the Sun Valley High School Band and Choral Association, $2,000 to the Sun Valley cheerleaders and $4,500 to the Sun Valley Girls Sports organization.

It’s also received funding from a 2006 fall festival and donations from district administrators.

Crego — who “came to believe he was king of the Penn-Delco castle,” according to his sentencing judge — was very specific in the grant application he submitted it with Barrar’s help.

“The money that comes from the grant will be used to purchase and install technological programs that will enhance the children’s educational experience. Penn-Delco would like to offer new and challenging programs within our district and this grant money will be used to achieve that goal. The foundation will utilize this money right away,” he wrote.

“Programs are already being developed and tested to make sure the ones Penn-Delco selects are the ones that will have the most impact on our students. Rep. Barrar, I, along with the foundation board thanks you for accepting this application and submitting it for approval. This project is of vital importance to the schools and community. Technology in the schools is a gateway to a better education and I can’t thank you enough for helping the foundation offer such programs within our schools. The grant funds of $100,000 will be used for this project. Thanks again for your help,” Crego wrote.

A letter sent in March 2005 to then-foundation President Jeffrey Pilla from the DCED Office of Operations and Compliance stated that “the grant award must be spent according to contract guidelines, and if applicable, the requirement that all projects receiving awards of $100,000 or more must have a separate audit completed within 120 days of the contract expiration date.”

The DCED contract was signed and accepted by Pilla and then-Penn-Delco Schools Superintendent Dr. Leslye Abrutyn on April 7 and 11, 2005, respectively.

At the time the grant was awarded, members of the foundation board included Crego; Abrutyn; Barrar; school board members David Seitz, Pilla, and John Green; former school board members Elaine Frieberg and Joseph P. Possenti Jr., who is also the Aston GOP leader; and John Steffy, the district’s chief financial officer.

The Delaware County District Attorney’s office launched a criminal investigation into the district and Crego’s link to Quick Start Preschools LLC, the pre- and after-school program, in November 2006. In July 2007, the Daily Times reported that the foundation issued two checks totaling $9,500 to Quick Start for tutoring services that were never provided.

The checks — one for $5,000, issued Nov. 20, 2005, and signed by then-foundation Treasurer Pilla, and the other, issued March 1, 2006, in the amount of $4,500 and signed by Green — were deposited into the Quick Start Preschools account within 24 hours of being written. They said they signed the checks at Crego’s direction.

Quick Start Director Jaclyn Schloegel said both checks were given to her for deposit by Crego. Schloegel repaid those funds several months ago.

In the uproar that followed, Pilla, Possenti, Barrar and Frieberg, as well as foundation legal advisor Barry VanRensler, all resigned from the foundation board in September 2007.

Current foundation members include Seitz, Steffy, school board member Carol Cannon and district Communications Director Michael Tantillo. Cannon and Tantillo were not members of the foundation board when the $100,000 state application was filed and the funds were granted.

Current foundation members issued a statement on Friday.

“An application in the name of the foundation was made to the DCED in February of 2004; however, only a limited number of members of the foundation knew of the stated purpose of the grant, that is, to improve technology programs in the district. Those who applied for the grant did not at any time reveal the stated purpose of the grant to the other members of the foundation. In the summer of 2007, all the members learned the intended purpose of the grant for the first time.

“We are working diligently with the DCED to achieve a fair and just resolution of this matter to the benefit of all involved parties.

“We have only recently retained counsel to assist us in our efforts and expect a positive outcome. The funds received from the commonwealth, although not spent as provided in the grant, were spent on a beautification project, as confirmed by an independent audit. This project was designed to benefit the students and residents of the district.”

In addition, Cannon said she and the three other current members of the foundation did not see the original application submitted by Crego until about a week ago.

In an interview last September, Barrar said he was unaware Crego had used Penn-Delco letterhead or the district’s tax ID number.

“I did facilitate the grant and assisted with the application process,” said Barrar then. “Keith said the grant was needed for technology. Once a project is approved by the DCED, it’s out of my hands. I did not see the specific contract at all. I have done my best to bring money back to my district and this is the first grant in 11 years that was not appropriated correctly. I was stunned to find out how the grant was spent. Schools are under so much pressure to provide technology. This could have been a positive thing.”

The district’s scandals eventually led to the resignation of Abrutyn. She pleaded guilty in December 2007 to a felony charge of violating the public employees’ ethics act and a misdemeanor for providing false information to law enforcement. She too had a secret financial interest in Quick Start. She was sentenced to one to 12 months and was allowed to serve the first month on house arrest and the rest of the time on parole.