Sad story, but true. Our PTA had a similar problem last year. Treasurer wasn't accounting for funds. She also happened to be a staff member at the school. The best course of actions has been suggested. Registered mail requesting exactly what you want from her and exactly when it should be done by. We went through 3-4 registered letters before taking it to a detective and getting their advice on it. We ended up having a sheriff deliver court papers requiring the books and paperwork from her. We received the books but not all of the paperwork and have since filed with the sheriff's department and she is undergoing trial. We have re-inforced our by-laws requiring two signatures, two deposit countings, and no staff/teacher being on the signature card, we have audits bi-annually, every exec board member gets copies of deposits/expenses paid. Our principal is also wanting the by-laws to reflect that no teacher be on the exec board. The treasurer was someone, if asked about before all this, everyone would've vouched for. Family issues and lax guidelines allowed it to happen. Even friends should/better follow the by-laws. We are so antsy and careful now. We managed to stay afloat with last years fundraisers but were forced to give up a big project that the money would more than've paid for.

Registered mail, stick to your promises - to your PTA/O and to the person you send the letters to.

Rockne;135598 wrote: Hi caffeinated mom --

Could you provide just a bit more detail? When your PTA disbanded was there a large balance still in the PTA? (we always recommend that that balance be spent down before official disbanding to avoid these very issues.) Was this former PTA leader against the switch?

I completely agree that "the money isn't hers", as has been stated above, but it may not technically be yours either. Certainly -- by the spirit of anyone with any ounce of logic -- those dollars should all be spent to benefit your school and your kids, but you may not have a technical claim on those dollars. Who were the former officers of the PTA when it disbanded? Who were the members? Those are the folks who technically would have say on the closing of that PTA, and the disbursing of those remaining funds.

A lot of groups make the mistaken assumption that -- when making the switch -- they're just turning their PTA into a PTO. But technically, it doesn't work like that. Groups disband a PTA. It goes a way. it doesn't exist anymore. And they start a PTO, brand new and with no techical connection to the PTA. The new PTO is akin to starting a Lion's Club or a Kiwanis at your school; it's an entirely separate organization.

Hope this helps some.

Tim

Hi Tim and everyone that has responded. Thanks so much for the advice. When the PTA disbanded, this woman was the acting President as well as the one pushing for the change. It was agreed that whatever monies were left from the PTA as well as the monies earned from our fall fundraiser, would be moved to the PTO account as soon as all outstanding bills had been paid. And, like I said, its been an entire year, and she hasn't given us any info as to what has happened with the money. No receipts, no ledger, nothing. So, this is where we stand. Hope that answered your questions.

momoncoffee;135559 wrote: Last year, our organization went through some big changes. We made the change from a PTA to a PTO. This allowed our small organization to keep more of our fundraising dollars and do what worked best for our small district.

Of course, with that came some leadership changes, and this year we have elected officers. And the decision of what to do with the fundraising monies that had been raised. Fast forward an ENTIRE YEAR and the PTO still has no idea what has become of the money. We were told that some outstanding bills needed to be paid and that we would have whatever was left. The old president is the one handling all of this and we have never seen any bills or been told any info as to what happened with the money. She has also stopped attending meetings.

So, what do we do? And, as frustrated as I am, I would like to try to do this as nicely
as possible, but I feel like I need to be firm about it at this point.

Thanks!

Hi caffeinated mom --

Could you provide just a bit more detail? When your PTA disbanded was there a large balance still in the PTA? (we always recommend that that balance be spent down before official disbanding to avoid these very issues.) Was this former PTA leader against the switch?

I completely agree that "the money isn't hers", as has been stated above, but it may not technically be yours either. Certainly -- by the spirit of anyone with any ounce of logic -- those dollars should all be spent to benefit your school and your kids, but you may not have a technical claim on those dollars. Who were the former officers of the PTA when it disbanded? Who were the members? Those are the folks who technically would have say on the closing of that PTA, and the disbursing of those remaining funds.

A lot of groups make the mistaken assumption that -- when making the switch -- they're just turning their PTA into a PTO. But technically, it doesn't work like that. Groups disband a PTA. It goes a way. it doesn't exist anymore. And they start a PTO, brand new and with no techical connection to the PTA. The new PTO is akin to starting a Lion's Club or a Kiwanis at your school; it's an entirely separate organization.

Hope this helps some.

Tim

Hello...
I am from Pennsylvania and our GPO is having a serious problem..similar to this one. I took the term of Vice President in our voting meeting in May. On August 12, 2007 it was brought to my attention that money has been taken from our organization ..a substantial amount of $7000.00. The people that brought this to my attention was the past president and the newly elected president. To make a long story short they both have known about this incident since January 2007. I was astounded to learn about this incident for one and immediately resigned as Vice President for the reason of hiding this information so long. I however, brought this incident to the attention of only the members of our organization, not mentioning any names, but wanted to let them know of what was going on with this organization. At the meeting where I resigned, which only included the officers, no members, I asked them to show me where the monies had been put back, which they said were put back. They refused to show me this information and that is my main reason for going to all the other members. I emailed all members to have a special meeting to try to get to the bottom of this, and the past president was there amongst approx. 15 members of which only 5 were on my side, and it turned out that I was the bad guy for emailing my resignation to all members. All I mentioned in my resignation was "Due to past practices, of which I do not agree, that I can not continue to be involved as Vice President of this organization. I would really like some advice if you have any to tell me what I should do. I was a very strong volunteer last year and would continue to volunteer, but was truly looking forward to taking office, but I just felt this was the best thing to do until this is straightened out. I feel an audit should be done and new officers in. The person that accepted office as the new president new entirely of what was going on since January 07, and think this has been handled so wrong. Please, I need advice. Did I do the right thing? Should I have not emailed the members?
Thanks so much

Why do you need to "do this as nicely as possible" when she's the one acting like..., well, I'm too nice to say it. Be professional, not nice. Yes, you must be firm and not back down. One thing is for sure: the money isn't HERS!

Well, I'm usually the one taking the "lets work it all out nicely" route but in this case I think you need to be very firm and direct. This is no joking matter. Fundraising money is missing and the one responsible for it is refusing to cooperate. Perhaps if she's made aware of the criminal implications of her actions she would become a lot more cooperative.

I wouldn't involve lawyers just yet but I would be sure to let her know the seriousness of her actions. I would send a final request, via registered letter, stating your expectations and the consequences for noncompliance.

She may be operating under the belief that it's PTA money and she doesn't report to the PTO. While that may or may not be true, she does answer to the community and to the parents who supported the fundraisers.

At the very least she owes a full accounting of the monies, where they were spent, who approved the allocations and how much, if any, is left over. If any is left over, she is responsible for stating what will be done with it.