Actually, I don't plan on going to the first PTO meeting. These women have treated me so terribly that I really don't think I could go. They went out of their ways to tell lies about me and I really don't think I could go without getting upset and my feelings being hurt. The PTO has sponsored the Cub Scouts for many years. They have to have a sponsor or they cannot be a part of the school. I know this because I am a chairperson for the Cub Scouts. Last year, when the new president took over she decided that, although they are self-sufficiant and have never asked for money, we won't sponsor them. The principal just couldn't understand why she would do that and ended up putting the sponsorship in the school's name instead of the PTOs. The all-school swim was actually the PTO's idea. We decided to reward the children at the end of the year and decided on an all-school swim. Last year she decided to start charging $0.75 per kid. That was until many parents had complained to her. Then when she decided to run again, she miraculously found the money to pay. Many parents who have not received checks or made out checks to the PTO have offered to be a part of our audit, but they always give it to the same person. I know that the treasurer doing jobs under the table is none of my business. But she is a neighbor and everyone knows that she is doing this, including my father-in-law. He always seems to visit on the days when she is getting boxes and they are stacked up on her front porch for days. What I had planned on doing was getting the appropriate paperwork and giving it to the principal. He is trying his hardest to get along with the new board but it is obvious he is having problems.
Many times when you put a PTO group under a magnifying glass you will discover many things that are not handled exactly how the by-laws say they should be. In the case of audits, our bylaws state that we should have three people "audit" the books. In reality if we can have one person volunteer we are lucky. Our treasurer brings the bank statements every month and a treasurer's report. We prepare a year end fiscal report that we distribute to the members as well as the school district.
It does sound that your PTO does have some minor troubles...don't we all. Instead of make a big public display of everthing that in your opinion is "wrong" please try to handle it in an appropriate manner. Showing up at the first meeting with an agenda will make you look disgruntled. Have you thought about listing the facts only to the principal so that he/she can relay the info on to the President and Board? Give the board a chance to look into their "wrong doings" before you pounce. When I took over our PTO that had been in place for 28 years, there were many things that were just always done that I had no clue were wrong until someone told me and gave me the opportunity to change it.
As far as your neighbor doing work under the table, frankly just by bringing that up will make you look like you are gunning for revenge...even if that is not your intention. You also risk losing any merit your other claims may have. Why risk it??
As far as the cuts in extra activities...Our PTO has nothing to do with Cub Scouts...that is a totally seperate organization from a PTO. Our school lost our chapter because of a lack of interest. They hold their own fundraisers, meetings etc. So I doubt your PTO got rid of the Cub Scouts. If I'm not mistaken isn't an all-school swim a district activity? Are you sure these activities you mentioned are directly PTO sponsored or do a lot of members just participate in them?
Actually, it just states three people in our by-laws, nothing about a CPA and no this person who is actually a friend and nieghbor of the old president has been doing our audit since 1997, is not a CPA. She has never received a check from the PTO and regardless of the fact that she sends in a check during every fundraiser, they say it doesn't matter. Do you guys see how almost every aspect of this particular PTO is not run correctly? As mean as these people have been to me in the last few monthes, I still don't want to see the PTO go down. On the other hand, I would like to see these people take some responsibility, but not at the cost of disasembling the PTO. The principal has threatened this for the last year. Especially after the fiasco of an election we had. The PTO does do some good, but not as much as we had in previous years. The president now has cut everything that we were sponsering. The Cub Scouts, the all-school swim, and a number of other things. I am so confused.
<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>we were having only one person audit our books, the same person every year and in the by-laws it states that three people have to sign off on an audit. <hr></blockquote>
The "classic" by-law requirement is a committee of three, OR a CPA; and none of those involved should be an incoming or outgoing account signatory (or their spouse). But I'm assuming from context that this one person was NOT a CPA.
The logic is that it would be difficult to find three people who are not signatories that would have a reason to cover up financial impropriety. Also, in the case where decisions need to be made about acceptable transactions that may have been recorded incorrectly (e.g. "should that money have been charged to 'events promotion' or 'membership recruitment'?), a committee of three can reach a consensus agreement.
In the case of a CPA, their license is worth too much to overlook funny business (unless your school boasts having Enron executives run the fund raising...); and they are trained to identify proper allocation of expenses.
The only reason it was mentioned to the PTO that my father-in-law is a CPA for the IRS is the fact that we were having only one person audit our books, the same person every year and in the by-laws it states that three people have to sign off on an audit. The past president from three years ago was actually the one that brought up the fact that it might be a good idea to have a CPA do our audit. We wanted someone we could trust and wouldn't charge alot. My father-in-law was retiring at the time, yes he went back to work, I guess he was bored! But I had suggested him and asked him about it. At the time he said he was too busy. He didn't start getting interested until he came to the Christmas musical and saw the playground equipment we had bought for 2 of our playgrounds, (We redid the both of them) and the marquis sign we had bought and other things. He had inquired as to how much money the PTO brought in, and it went from there. Maybe I will print out some of the discussions. Oh, and to answer don't panic's question, we do have our own bank account.
Ok, maybe illegal wasn't the right word for the situation. I agree that you need to contact the IRS and go from there. I'm not sure if having a family member do the taxes is a good idea. I know that he is fair, but I like to cover all my bases. I would hate for someone to question his decision simply because he is your father-in-law. I guess I'm just paranoid by nature. Good luck and let us know how everything turns out!
