Actually yes, I found out that she is also a Girl Scout mom, but not at our school. And yes, they have been discreetly warned about our situation.
I agree with critter that we are all ethically responsible for this situation. I was sporadically involved in PTO last year--I didn't ask any questions, I bear some responsibility. And with only two board members, a handful of general members, hazy job descriptions, and no auditing committee--yes, I think the prez should have been aware of the situation.
Another board member brought up to me that the district had access to all of our records, and as we use their tax ID number, technically it is their money any way, so they must have known what the real figure is and have dealt with this as they have seen fit. For us to step in now and bring up a closed issue would not be productive. I'm inclined to agree, after sleeping on this matter. Our group is just now starting to get stronger and more cohesive. We are gearing up for the best fall festival we ever had, have more people interested and involved than ever before. Reopening this issue could hurt what we are doing now. So I am inclined to let the matter rest, although I am still unsettled about doing so.
Since becoming a board member, I have requested a full financial report every month and instituted the use of reimbursement forms that require receipts. We no longer allow cash withdrawls and require two board member signatures on checks. I don't know what else to do to prevent another financial mess. But you better believe that if it does happen on my watch, I will press for full prosecution, hang any "deal" with the district or embarrassment to the thief.
Long-time readers here know that in a traditional situation I'm pretty black-and-white on embezzlement. My sympathy starts with the kids and the school who are losing big time, extends to the volunteers and the leaders who've worked their tails off honestly only to be betrayed and goes last, way last, to the embezzler.
One of the tricks here is that this theft didn't take place on your watch. I disagree in strong terms with how it was handled, but it's not necessarily your place to demand that a closed issue be re-opened. I don't see what harm can occur from you asking the folks who made the decisions last year if they were aware that the $$ figure was more than they're saying. Maybe they don't know. And if they did, they can simply say -- "yes, we knew that and still decided the way we did."
Someone above said something to the effect of: "rest easy, the embezzler will get hers down the road." I think that's a terrible way to look at this and lends to the problem here. It's amazing how often these embezzlement stories wind up involving multiple victims, and that's because too many have that same feeling of not rocking the boat. If you know this person is volunteering somewhere else, I hope you're at least giving warning to appropriate folks.
If this person broke into your house and took your jewelry, would you press charges? Why is it better that she took the kids' playground and field trip money? Ugh.
Remember too that the embarrassment factor extends to the person's family also. Getting a plan for reimbursement arranged for this person, putting in new safeguards on the finances if agreed to by the district and the PTO board repairs the damage done and hopefully keeps it from ever happening again. I know I would be angry with this person for violating the trust the PTO had in her and I would want her punished, but I also would feel awful if her children were negatively affected by a public outing of her inappropriate behavior.
I would discreetly question the amount discrepancy only if I was completely sure of my facts.
I have a different opinion about the role of the President in financial matters. The entire board is responsible for the financial status of the PTO. The treasurer is the custodian, which in my definition, just means she is the one who executes transactions. She is not solely responsible for the money. By virtue of taking on a leadership position, the other officers accept responsibilty for the group - financial and otherwise. If there are no controls in place and the Treasurer steals or mismanages the money, then the whole board should feel responsible. The officers are involved because they did not institute better financial controls and/or did not ask more questions of the treasurer. They may not be legally liable for the embezzelment, but they should feel ethically liable. Trust is not a financial control.
As "just volunteers" we often downplay our role in running a small business, which is what the PTO is. Unfortunately situations like this call attention to the need for policies and professionalism even though we're "just" a PTO.
In our PTO, the Presidnet, VP, and Treasurer all have check signing authority, but TWO signatures are required on every check, we require substantiating documentaiton, and you cannot sign a check for yourself (ex: if VP needs to be reimbursed for PTO expense, she can't sign check). Presumeably, if an officer is putting her signature on a check, she is accepting responsibility that this check is appropriate.
Regarding writermom's situation...it would be helpful to know how the district came up with the amount they believe was embezzled, especially if the bank statements seem to indicate otherwise. I wouldn't push too hard, though. You can spend a lot of time stirring this up, but it won't necessarily fix anything. Maybe your energy would be best directed at continuing to implement strict financial controls and asking questions of the new treasurer anytime you need to.
Two years ago, we had a similiar situation, however, no one was aware of it until the following year, when all the past board members were no longer parents at our school.
There was a completely new board and we had a new principal. Our main goal was to get the parents excited again and get them involved which we succeeded in doing. .then last year, we realized that we were doing the same amount of fundraising and for some reason, we were ending the years off with thousands of dollars more then when the old board ran it. . ..
looking back, there were many "cash" checks that the treasurer created generic receipts for . ...
it was agreed by all, including our prinicipal, that yes, money laundering WAS going on within the PTO in past years but instead of stirring the pot and causing more drama with the parents, we decided to move forward and cover our behinds on everything we did, every cent we spent and get the trust of our parents back. . . .and it has worked . .
I know it's not fair that these people got away with it, BUT, if they did it at our school, they are doing it at the new schools they are at and they WILL be caught. ..it's a circlular effect and it will all come back to bite them eventually ....
I have mixed feelings about this, first I am not sure how much you should "blame" your president for this, truthfully if you members, & principal of your group didnt get monthly financial reports then you could say you are all accountable to some degree, of course that isn't fair. Monthly reports should have shown accountable for all funds.
Next about the larger amount, I guess I would look at the fact that this is an ugly sitaution and if the district has already "settled" with the lady and she is making payments then I would be concerned about having it come up again.I am thinking that maybe the district knows the true amount, you said they were handling it, did they have access to your accounts, if so then they should know.
I have never been in this situation, if I was in your shoes I would ask whether the district had that access. If they did then they felt that they came to an amount that was taken. If they didnt then I would ask how they came up with an amount.
Something like this can cause true hardship on a pto, so make sure you have all of your facts before you go public if that is what you decide to do. Good luck and let us know how you make out!
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
