if you have (or had) evidence of theft and didnt report it to anyone, have it legitimately documented or processed, then it 'didnt happen' for all intents and purposes...it remains rumor as far as your voters are concerned (or gossip, since its a negative thing).

let her get nominated and run, the voters will decide. and if your group has proper checks and balances in place, as it should, then if there is any impropriety this would be unmasked and she will be removed of her position.
but, you have to have checks and balances in your bylaws for audits, removal of officers etc.

it is not good to 'prevent' someone from runing for office simply on account of hearsay. you will cause even greater problems - ie YOU will be perceived in a bad light, and even if YOU know of a theft personally, others dont.

you wil be seen as exclusionary or ostracizing or bullying, or just plain old cliqueish, if yu try to prevent someone from running for office just like any other parent. and of course, talking about a theft among the grapevine, in order to get the votes NO, is tantamount to slander. you need to think about how you handle this. it can come back to bite you in the court of public opionion at your school, ie the rumor mill.

We had an issue of "misappropriation of funds" as well. However, the treasurer and I spoke with the person involved quickly so that she knew we knew. She was removed from chairing another event that involved income to avoid another issue. When asked at a PTO meeting why the 1st event lost money, the treasurer simply stated that there was inadequate bookkeeping or tracking of sales & income so we could not pinpoint the exact cause of the loss (something like that). We think most people got the hidden message, but what she stated was, in fact, truthful. Although this person tried to run later in the year, she was embarassingly defeated.
You can try to kindly speak to her about the shortage in money so she knows that you know. But do not discuss elections.
If she is determined to run for an office, suggest a role where money is not a factor (secretary).
It's thin ice, so be careful!

We have the same problem. Only a coulpe of us know about the situation and with elections here we are torn with what to do. It will be intresting to here some of your thoughts on how to handle this. We just try to make sure that this person has no control over money or donations. If any of you have advice we would truly be greatful.

Well, the rest of the board is right. You can't tell her she can't run if she fits within the candidate requirements of your bylaws. You also need to be sure that you don't share your opinion of her with others. What you believe to be true and what you can legally say out loud are two completely different things.

I suspect you will get plenty of posts about hearsay, gossip and the damage it can do. As the leader of your team it's up to you to set a positive example. You will undoubtedly run across members that you would rather not work with. However, all parents have the right to be involved with their child's education. It's up to us as parent group leaders to help find ways for them to do that within a positive and inclusive environment.

If there is evidence against this woman and it wasn't pursued through the checks and balances that your bylaws provide then it's a leadership problem as much as a membership or individual problem. If your bylaws don't have checks and balances then it's time to review, rewrite and adopt revisions.

If this candidate is a person of low character and the membership believes this to be true then she won't win the election. If she does win the election then it's up to the remaining members of the executive board to keep an eye on her the same as you would any other member. Make sure solid checks and balances are in place, that no one person is ever alone with cash, that two signatures are required on checks, etc.

Remember - innoccent until proven guilty. Unless this person has been caught and charged by the law you are working off of 'claims'.
"Confronting" sounds hostile and should not be the tactic used; open "discussions" with a 3rd party present (principle) will prove better in this situation; could look like a clique bullying tactic otherwise. Have your facts ready including an audit if the alleged stealing includes money. Your bylaws should also have in place background checks on anyone who is elected as an officer. If what you state is correct, you have ample evidence and if they unable to explain the situation in question I am sure this person will withdraw.

elections are coming we know we have a thief among us. WHO IS NOT on the executive board, but wants to be for next year. How do we deal with this? (We have evidence that she has stolen) but no one ever confronted her it seems like everyone is afraid of this woman. Me and my co-pres want to tell her directly she can't run but the rest of the board says we can't What should we do??