The treasurer for our PTO this past year has missed several of our 'final' meetings where we go over the books and finalize the transfer of files, etc. from last year's board to this year's. And I'm nervous. It wasn't until mid-way through the year that the Pres. noticed that our bank account didn't require two signatures! Our by-laws don't require an audit, but you can bet I'm going to push that we add that.

As for the sticky situation you are in, I think you should follow your conscience and quit at the next meeting, if not sooner. And then if it were me, I'd consult a criminal attorney to see what your next move should be to make sure you stay out of hot water.

Good luck.

You have a tough decision to make...resign quietly or expose the theft of HSA monies. Only you can decide what will work for you. If it were me, I would report the thefts to the HSA president, principal, and the priest (you said you are a catholic school). If that action got no response, I would contact the police department. You are on the board of a non-profit and have fiduciary responsibilities in that role.

What do your by-laws say about the treasurer's role? I would contact the treasurer who is not attending meetings and let that person know what is happening. Your by-laws may be used by the treasurer to get copies of the financial records you need.

Whatever you do, put it in writing. If you have to, send the letters certified mail so you have a reciept and proof of who you notified and when. In other words CYA!!!

Good luck.

When I leave nothing will change, I have the bylaws, in fact , they are still the same ones from 1946 when the school opened(does that say anything?) I have tried to change the bylaws but the majority votes that they are "OK", I have tried to get bank statements ( the school's secretary takes care of OUR money, she is also backed up by the principal, HSA president ) all she wants to show us is a spreadsheet , that can and it is probably altered all the time, we get no receipts for any of our fundraising events ( deposit slips to the bank) the treasurer has not even gone to any of our meetings and the majority of people voted for her to stay!!!?, I only have 1, did I post that right 1!!!!!! parent out of 165 families in the school wanting to know where the money is going and demanding an audit. We are a Catholic school, very small from a low-income neighborhood,so most parents don't care because they don't pay anything to the school, the ones that do pay are the ones that are upset , but are not demanding to see where the money is going. As far as I know ( because there are no records of previous audits) there has not been one in years, if any.Being in the HSA this year( my first time) has not been a good experience, I have seen people take things that do not belong to them, it belongs to their children, when I brought this up to the President, she said she would speak to the right person about it, nothing has been done, I am not only the secretary, I am also responsible for getting high profile people to donate to the school, we are getting accredited this year and I know they will do an audit to the account, I can not be a part of something that I know is wrong, and the fact that only 1 other parent wants proof is not good, I just have to figure out a way to leave the HSA without my child paying for my actions. I did not know that school was like that, I even thought about moving my child now to another school, but with no luck. What do I do? :confused:

I'm not here to stop you from resigning but, let me ask you this:

What is going to happen when you do resign?

Is anything going to change?

Personally, if it were me I wouldn't leave but start doing some politics. Get a meeting stacked in your favor and make some motions if your bylaws say you can to change some things. If you don't have your bylaws, get them. Do research and see what you can change.

Can you oust your board?

When was your last audit?

Make a motion for an audit if one hasn't been done in a while. No one seemed to question our board last year about one. (They haven't had one in 2yrs.) Our board didn't even have bylaws available to members to view. When I came on board this year with a completely new executive board the first thing I did was hand out bylaws to let people know that they were theirs to change not mine. And an Audit was way over due.

Depending on your bylaws, for example, in ours it states:

Any parent that has a child enrolled in the school is a member.

When you're talking 500 to 800 students you have a lot of parents that are members. The single vote is powerful if you have enough people on your side. All you need is a majority.

I would give a copy of the resignation letter to everyone who has a concern of and for the school, as well as a copy of the resignation to the police, to your local newspaper editor, and to your safety deposit box.

It sounds easy, doesn't it? Make no mistake, it is going to be tougher than you think. In the long run it will be worth it.

I wish you good luck and good sleeping at night.

Hey Metzy- would it be a good idea to give a copy of the resignation to the Principal, Superintendant, and the police when and if this person goes in? You know, CYA.

I would even go as far as to resign at the meeting but in writing give a detailed explaination of why, that is as long as you feel comfortable and ask that the letter not be read but kept confidential.