This is my first year in any PTO and at our first meeting we couldn't accept (recommended by Pres.) our treasurers report from last year because there were discrepencies and we didn't have the check book. The previous treasurer wouldn't bring the check book in. It's now October and when the Pres. got the check book he went and filed a police report. We have had the past account frozen and it is in the hands of Police. We have opened a new account and are moving forward with a lot less but moving forward. I am Chairperson of the bylaw subcommittee and have been looking on the message boards for help in addressing this issue. I don't feel bad about going to authorities at all. I feel our Pres. did the right thing. I also feel for the children of the person who wrote the checks but apparently they weren't thought about as the checks were being written. Sorry for being long winded on my first post. The investigation is ongoing.
Wasn't aggravated at you, 2gals. I do think if the police were involved in the first instance, it would have prevented the second instance.
I get aggravated at the frequency with which this issue pops up. And --in general terms -- I get aggravated when this particular crime is often swept under the rug. The rug-sweeping happens way more when the theft is from a volunteer group than it does when it's a regular ol' theft from a store or a business or a person, when -- in fact -- I think the crime is way worse when the victim is a school parent-teacher group.
As leaders, we need to be the ones standing up for the volunteer organization. Every time we let one of these things pass, it exacerbates the problem for everyone.
Last point -- parent group leaders and principals are not detectives. Police are trained and experienced in understanding how these crimes work and figuring out how much money went away and how. And the police plus others (prosecutors) are the ones who can get it back. I believe strongly that folks who try to handle it quietly, in-house more often than not get duped again by the embezzler, who then: a) doesn't get a record, which would alert others; b) doesn't get in real trouble; and c) doesn't wind up making full restitution (because the "investigators" aren't real investigators). Bad all around.
Tim, I'm thinking it was my comment that has you aggrivated. Let me stress that our Principal has made the Principal of school where one of the volunteers is currently, aware of what we suspected went on.
The other volunteer that was doing it with her, well she was very involved in Girl Scouts and 4 of us moms had a meeting with the council because the accounts for our girls troops just weren't adding up so we suspected it was happening there as well. We were basically told, "you all just have a personal issue with so and so" and so she continued that year only to end the year stealing $1700 from our schools troops. She has since moved and NOW her "friends" have apologized to us, saying they should have listened to us in the first place.
IT'S THE KIDS THAT ARE SUFFERING from all of this. All that money was raised from cookie sales and those girls did a TERRIFIC job last year and it was all for not. ...many didn't not return to scouting this year, which makes me very sad.
I agree with my colleague when he says that all share the responsibility in how the financial health of our organizations are handled. But, let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Even with the strictest money procedural security measures in place, one can still find a way to "cook the books" and the President not know till an audit is called upon and completed. The one true measure I feel that helps insure a PTO Prez is not implicated in any wrong doing is simple- do not have your name on PTO bank Accounts or sign any checks. Yes this is hard to do, puts more responsibility on others, but keeps you from being tempted to embezzle or being accused of it. Also, let's think logically about this, if the Pres was responsible- why did our colleague not say that the President authorized and signed the checks that the Treasurer used toembezzle the funds? Did he willing sign for something pertaining to PTO or was his signature forged? Something to think about!
Ionly say this coming from a scholl where the past 2 Prez's (1999-2000 & 2001-2002) embezzle over $1500 from our PTO General Fund. This is why I distance myself from any hands-on,direct handling of any financial transaction or cash monies. And that's my two cents. I am sorry if I offended anyone who feels differently.
Yes, we do, Luv. And only Pto officers can man cash boxes. Not sure how that will help since it was a PTO officer that stole money. Maybe having two people at all cash boxes would be better.
