Thanks Craig. Your reply prompted me to fill in a couple of other blanks that I didn't think about (and one thing I just confirmed with the state PTA office)

1. This PTA, to my knowledge, has no actual board of directors per say. They have 4 'officers' but I'm not thinking that's really supposed to be the same thing. Who knows though, they don't refer to any sort of 'board' publicly, only officers. I've asked the PTA president directly who their board of directors are, and she didn't give me any more information on that.

2. I just confirmed with the state office today on this...when a local PTA flags their annual review as complete, it's akin to just going into the state website and checking a box that says 'yup we did this'. The state has no actual information as to the content of the annual review at all. I've asked my local PTA for a copy of said report on multiple occasions and they have produced nothing. I suspect it either doesn't exist, or its not in any sort of form that is meant to be for public consumption if it actually does.

I will bring up the financial controls at their meeting next month. One thing I noticed at my first meeting is that NOBODY is asking about the money at all...they are asking FOR money for sure, but nobody is asking what they have to show for the money (not chump change in any way, they have a budget close to 50K for the year planned). One parent did ask about if turkey dogs (and not just beef) were going to be served at an upcoming event though LOL.

And I hear what you are saying about a conspiracy. I don't think it's that as much as one particular individual who has a lot of folks believing things that just aren't true. Aren't true because people aren't thinking to ask certain questions. Because, you know, you typically want to trust people and their intentions etc.

The digging continues...

To be honest, I don't get any sense of wrongdoing based on your detailed description of what's going on. It sounds like the group is generally following sound practices. The fact that the person you mention has been handling PTA finances for four years -- and they've conducted an annual audit each of those four years -- makes it seem much less likely to me that any funny business is happening. If something significant were going on, it would have been caught in those audits. Otherwise, you'd be talking about a very significant cover-up, which I've never heard of in cases of theft from a PTA. It's pretty much always one person or two at most taking money, and they do it because there are absolutely no financial controls in place. That doesn't seem like the case here.

That being said, we highly encourage transparency in all financial matters for PTOs and PTAs. But it's important to ask yourself whether any lack of transparency is a purposeful coverup, or it might simply be a matter of this being an all-volunteer organization where people often have little experience when they take on a job -- they're simply doing their best to help out.

One thing you might do is take our list of 5 Smart Financial Controls to a meeting and ask which ones are being followed. Advocate to put in place any that are not -- these are simple best practices that are easy to follow and go a long way toward protecting the group's funds. Here's the link:

www.ptotoday.com/pto-today-articles/arti...t-financial-controls

Good luck, and please let us know how things go.

First off, thanks to mum24kids and craig for the replies so far. Here's an update...

1. Three weeks have gone by now since my initial request to the PTA and I have asked the PTA president in 3 separate emails for a copy of the annual financial report which, according to the state PTA organization, has been marked filed as 'complete'. They have yet to actually produce any said report. I'd say communication with this group on matters not concerning either giving them money or volunteering time is poor to non-existent. I feel like the blow-off I am getting is in full effect and perhaps they are trying to circle the wagons internally...I don't know truth be told.

2. I have attended an official PTA meeting with this group. The treasurers report is given orally accompanied by a spreadsheet handout with "a bunch of numbers on it", but nothing else that backs up any of those numbers. I've been told that there is the existence of an audit committee (it's not advertised on their website even though probably a dozen other committees are) but nobody from said committee appears on the meeting agendas or participates in the meeting itself. I've inquired about joining the audit committee but my requests have so far, been ignored.

3. I've found that expenses/income from their major Boosterthon LIVE fundraiser as reported on the spreadsheet don't jive with the boilerplate sliding pricing scale. I've asked the PTA for clarification on if their contract had a different pricing scale in place. (www.fairfaxunderground.com/forum/file.ph...thon_Contract.10.pdf)

4. I wrote a paper check to this PTA and sent it in to the school during a time span when I knew the person I suspect of controlling all of the money was going to be out of town for a number of days. I did this to see if my check would be cashed before this person returned, or not until after this person made the rounds at the school collecting money. My check was cashed 5 days after it was sent to the school in my child's backpack, the same day said person was back in town.

5. I've asked this PTA if they have theft insurance, as well as liability insurance. Their budget only lists a line item for liability insurance. I'm waiting for an answer from the PTA president on this. I'm suspecting the answer is that their is no fraud/theft insurance.


One last thing, the person who I am concerned about had a repo for failure to pay a vehicle loan, and 2 trips to eviction court roughly a year prior to being put in charge of the PTA $$, which is going on its 4th year now. These indiscretions are all on file at the local courthouse, but I suspect nobody within the PTA is aware of any of this. I'm struggling with the idea of whether or not I make others within this PTA group aware of the existence of this information. I have access to a number of other financial indiscretions by this individual, but these are not things people not close to my personal situation would really know about. I know I have to keep those under my hat for now, but I'm seeing similar patterns with my PTA inquiries that I've seen many times before with my personal ones...

At what point do I consider a lack of a response to my concerns a cause for an official investigation by law enforcement etc?

Thanks for any comments...

Didn't realize this was a PTA. That being the case, there is an additional route you can take.

Every state is different, because they are all run by volunteers with varying levels of commitment. But the state PTA office should be monitoring the annual filing of the financial report (which would include a listing of who is on the audit committee) and the tax returns. So, if within a week you don't get a response from your local unit, then request one from the state PTA office. If the state office doesn't have it, they should follow up on that with the local unit.

It sounds like things are in better shape than I assumed from your original post. The state has verified that the reports have been filed annually, they have made a budget and promptly gave it to you, and it looks like at least most, if not all of the tax returns have been done. Those are all good signs. Have you been going to PTA meetings on a regular basis to see if they are providing monthly reports?

I'm not saying you should back off on your requests for reports, because you are entitled to them, and transparency is definitely a good thing. But in your most recent posting I think you're making some leaps. In the "for what it's worth category," I'll add some color commentary to some of your statements.

"This PTA is part of a state wide umbrella PTA organization that requires only the 990-N (not 990) to remain in 'good standing'." Actually, the requirement is that they file the appropriate tax return, as determined by the IRS, for their size, to remain in good standing. There's no PTA/PTO in the country who is going to file a 990 or 990EZ if they meet the requirements for the 990-N. (Well, unless they have a volunteer who's a tax return preparation loving masochist.)

"One thing I found interesting was that the budget for staff appreciation was less than the budgeted amount for something called 'PTA officer discretionary', whatever that is..." This line item is so common in PTAs, because many states have rules that their bylaws include a clause that changes to the budget over some arbitrary (and usually ridiculously low) amount require a vote by the membership. So they budget for some miscellaneous amount that gives them flexibility to do stuff the officers deem necessary over the course of the year without having to go to the membership. Not saying this is a good thing, but very common.

"I know that when they say 3 PTA members, that 'should' exclude school officials (principals), as well as other incoming/outgoing PTA officers" Not true. Incoming officers can be great sources for audit committee members, especially if they are relatively new to the organization. Sometimes an outgoing officer can be handy to have on the committee, but it shouldn't be anyone with check signing authority or who regularly deals with money. And if I could get a school finance officer to take the time to be on an audit committee, I would be thrilled.

" It's been going on 3 days and there has been no reply or acknowledgement of my request, despite their quick reply before when I merely asked for copies of handouts from previous meeting." Three days really isn't a long time, especially at the beginning of the school year when a LOT is going on. It would be nice if they responded more quickly to at least give you a timeframe when the info would be available for you, but I wouldn't be upset until a week went by with no acknowledgment. Depending on how they keep their records, and what other things are going on with their lives, it might take a little more time.

"One other thing I did was volunteer for their 'audit' committee, as I was told by their parent organization that one was supposed to exist, to audit the books monthly. This PTA does not advertise an 'audit' committee. They do have over a dozen events and volunteer committees however." Great that you volunteered! When you say "parent organization," I'm assuming state PTA. And whoever there told you PTA books get audited monthly either misspoke or was on drugs. NO. ONE. does this. A nonsigner should sign off on the bank statement and bank reconciliation every month, but that's a far cry from an audit. The reason they probably don't advertise the committee is because the committee is an ad hoc committee that only exists to perform the year end audit. Not uncommon for PTAs to only start recruiting for the audit committee as they approach year end.

"The message they are sending is that they mostly act as a fundraising organization." Unfortunate, but not uncommon. Not sure if this is a pattern you have seen over several years, or just so far this year. If it's the latter, hopefully they will do more activities that are not focused on fundraising. There does tend to be an emphasis on collecting dues and having a big "kick off fundraiser" at the beginning of the year at most schools.

"One last thing, this school is Title 1. IMO even more reason why the PTA should be focusing more on WHAT they are doing with the money they raise, and WHAT they are doing to support the goals and mission statement of both the state and national PTA. " I disagree. Every parent group officer, regardless of the school's status, should understand the importance of being good financial stewards and helping to meet the needs of their school. The needs might be different from school to school. but every parent group should focus on meeting the needs as defined by their parents and school officials--not necessarily the needs as defined by the state and national PTA, although you still need to fit into their guidelines.

Sorry for the long winded response. Hope it helps to give things a little different perspective.

Thanks for the responses so far...

At this point, I am convinced there are no 990 forms for this PTA since 2009. What I have found is that starting in 2011, they have filed the 990-N postcard, which as some of you might know, really tells you nothing about finances except that they gross less than $50,000 annually. This PTA is part of a state wide umbrella PTA organization that requires only the 990-N (not 990) to remain in 'good standing'.

There are a couple of other PTAs in this district that have similar student body sizes and seemingly similarly active PTAs that also do not file a 990, only the 990-N. Those 2 other PTAs have budget information publicly available on their web site. My step-son's does not. We made a request to the PTA president for documents handed out during the membership meetings so far this year, and we were provided a copy of the budget the next day (that and meeting agendas were provided, no meeting minutes though). One thing I found interesting was that the budget for staff appreciation was less than the budgeted amount for something called 'PTA officer discretionary', whatever that is...

They are also supposed to file an annual financial review with the state, which according to the state has been done. I haven't seen it yet. The school advertises a financial committee that does the review in June and that it has to be either a CPA or 3 PTA members who do it. I know that when they say 3 PTA members, that 'should' exclude school officials (principals), as well as other incoming/outgoing PTA officers. I'm not convinced that was done though. Once I see it, we'll see.

Speaking of which, I've requested earlier this week from the PTA, a copy of said financial review. It's been going on 3 days and there has been no reply or acknowledgement of my request, despite their quick reply before when I merely asked for copies of handouts from previous meeting. I also requested copies of the monthly treasurer report since July 1. One other thing I did was volunteer for their 'audit' committee, as I was told by their parent organization that one was supposed to exist, to audit the books monthly. This PTA does not advertise an 'audit' committee. They do have over a dozen events and volunteer committees however.

There is a striking lack of transparency with this PTA and their finances, which I anticipated. Everything that comes home as a flyer is either a request for donations for something or other, or a request for volunteers for this or that, or an advertisement to attend a fundraiser at a place of business, etc. Things that I know a PTA typically might do, but certainly not all the things a PTA is supposed to be doing. The message they are sending is that they mostly act as a fundraising organization.

One last thing, this school is Title 1. IMO even more reason why the PTA should be focusing more on WHAT they are doing with the money they raise, and WHAT they are doing to support the goals and mission statement of both the state and national PTA. This PTA seems to be doing none of that. They just did one of those 'fun run' events and stated that the money was going for 'technology and school supplies'. No other details provided...

If anyone has any other useful suggestions, I'm all ears. Thanks!

I would go with Craig's suggestion and skip the 4506-a step. If Guidestar doesn't have the returns, they likely haven't been filed. Once they don't file for three years they lose their exemption; you can check that here: www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Auto...on-of-Exemption-List
If they haven't lost their exemption, you can just submit your request to review the returns to the President/Treasurer; they have to comply or face fines. Should you wish to go that route, I can give you a reference to the IRS website or code that outlines that (it's too late for me to spend time looking it up right now). www.ptotoday.com/media/kunena/emoticons/wink.png
If they have lost their exemption, that's a while other story.

But either way, tax returns aren't really worth much of anything. They're easy enough to falsify is someone is embezzling, as are general financial records. The group has to have good controls in place and annual independent reviews to prevent that. Making sure there's an independent review of the books is the way to go.