Elementary PTO Missing Funds

I think I would be more angry that their book keeping system allowed that much to be removed without being able to instantly know who did it.

First - it is missing. They will find out what happened to it.
Second - don't jump to conclusions. More often than not, there is a reasonable explanation.
Don't create more drama. Wait for it all to play out. Do not call around and discuss it. Unless you are directly involved or affected, stay out of it. Let the board and the police handle it.

First , don't jump to conclusions and don't get into the drama and gossip that goes with it.

I've been President and an officer on other levels as well. In my groups... We always had an outside accounting firm involved, the budgets along with checks and balances were done weekly. NO one person could write a check , count and deposit funds, etc. everything was signed off by 2 or more officers.

The groups I have been officer involved in had from $15,000 to $200,000+ and it is vital to keep a running record of EVERYTHING in order to be audited and the audit be correct. In all case we were 501c3 non profit . If you have that status.. You better have verifiable documents for everything for the IRS.

3 yrs ago, there was someone on our board who embezzeled and when it was found via an audit trail, she was charged with the criminal activity per the police.

All the while, we were NOT running our mouths talking about any $$ issues or specific people. Be careful about involving yourself with hearsay and condemning anyone before ALL facts are clearly on the table.

If you are not on the board and directly involved.. You don't know what you don't know. Let authorities audit and figure things out without getting involved in the obvious drama and gossip.

The IRS and Police will handle it accordingly!

I'd have a heart attack as I'm President of our PTO this year! Fortunately, we have a system of checks and balances for every penny that is in the bank, and 2 Board members are required to sign any check, deposit, withdrawal, etc... All funds must be approved before being distributed. This makes it difficult for any money to "go missing". Not to mention I get budget updates each week, and have to go over it with a fine tooth comb. Someone found a loophole in their system and robbed them. Robbery = Crime. They should be prosecuted to the fullest.

I would try to find out more accurate information about the situation, not just listen to gossip. There are a lot of possible scenarios. I would hold the PTA board accountable for explaining what happened, who was at fault, how the shortage was discovered--FULL DISCLOSURE. I would also expect them to press charges against the person(s) who were responsible if fraud or criminal activity was involved. I would expect that they would also try to recover the funds. Please provide more details when available.

I'd be angry for sure! I'd also want to know how that happened. There are so many checks and balances in place with our PTA I can't imagine anyone being able to steal ANY money, much less 10 grand. It would be noticed immediately! Sounds like several people dropped the ball on this one. It also sounds like that theft needs to be reported to the authorities.

I'd be sad and angry, of course. Glad that the cops are involved. And I would want the PTA to assure me that it wouldn't happen again/have greater oversight.

*whistle*

Must be some expensive cookies at those bake sales!

I just realized you are with the PTO.. that is a different organization.. not sure what their procedures are.

The difference is that the PTA is run by the parents. A PTO is run by the Principal. In our school district the District asks that it be a PTA.

OH dear. I hope you all had insurance.
In the bylaws of the PTA. it states you need to have insurance and all of the officers should be bonded so all of them are protected..

And yes, we have pressed charges about a woman who misappropriated the funds from our "Grocery Card" fund raiser. Her warrant was delivered to her while she was at work.

We recovered the money through our insurance and they (the Insurance company) sued her for the money. I do not recall how she was prosecuted or if the insurance company made an agreement with her.

But I felt so bad for her daughter. She had attended school with our children for all of those years. We kept it as quiet and professional as possible since we did not want her daughter to feel embarrassed.
It was not her fault. She also had two younger children in other neighborhood schools.

We only discussed it at a board meeting and one open PTA meeting. Since not many people attended that meeting, we lucked out. It was in the minutes and they were posted it online and on our bulletin board in the school, but again people were very respectful; about the whole thing.

We sent the information to the State PTA and the National PTA.

Um, that's called stealing. Call the school and see if anything has been done about it. they should know. I bet someone has called the national PTO and reported it to the police, also.
It would make me mad.

Mad and I would insist the DA prosecuted.

It shouldn't be difficult to determine who had access to that money, and who had the need.

I would feel betrayed and angry. Often, people will steal money because they feel like they have no other option in a difficult situation. But that's a BULL excuse. Because people WANT to help someone in a rough spot. All that person needs to do is ask!

Well if it's missing then hopefully it will be found.
This kind of thing can happen to any organization, especially if one (desperate? greedy?) person has access/authorization over the accounts. If that's the case I'm afraid your PTO has learned a very expensive lesson :-(

I would feel violated. Parents, kids and teachers work hard to raise that money.

I would also want to know how it happened. As a PTA treasurer, I can assure you that there are ways to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

Sadly this happens more often than not.

When every anything got missing my mother's first reaction was to accuse the missing item of being stolen. 9 times out of 10 her assessment of the situation wasn't valid.

The first step would be to have an audit done of the funds to determine if foul play did indeed occur. The second step would be to proceed with caution because this may just be an mistaken judgement and not supported by the facts.

Once the facts are discovered then it may be time to get the police involved if there were some stealing going on.

People will steal if given the opportunity, they aren't thinking about the kids but themselves. Selfishness is what stealing is all about often times.

I would try to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing money.

Apparently, this is not uncommon at all.
How sad.
Pathetic to steal from kids--and the parents that so willingly contribute.
How else would anyone feel?

This happened at my children's school. The principal was escorted by the police off the premises. It was pretty traumatic for all involved.

It's happened a couple of times recently in our area. Unbelievable.