Extremely Involved

Take everything back to her & let her do it herself or find someone she can "trust". As for keeping her kiddos, I would pass on that too.

I would tell the rest of the pto what is hapening at the next meeting. it should be out in the open with that sort of thing. also please talk with the principle of the school as soon as you can. if no one knows what is going on then no one can do anything about it. if everything you mentioned is hapening then every one would want to know about it.

HTH
Aj

I think you are about to get stuck with paying for all the candles. I also think you'd better talk to someone else regarding her actions, like the school board, the superintendent or someone like that. Something is fishy with her actions and this involves the whole school and the impact that will happen if something happens to the money. Good Luck.

Hi,
I admire you trying to help with your daughters school. I have helped with PTA and different fund raisers in the past. When you are working to help the school or who ever you are doing the fundraiser for it is an unselfish thing to do! I hope it all goes well and you are able to make as much money as possible for your school.
R.

Incidents like this, as well as 100 other reasons, is why I used to write a check to the school as a DONATION and refused to allow my children to peddle junk, or be involved in fund-raisers. When you have a mixed-bag participation, you risk experiencing all the worst-case scenerios. NO THANKS!

I would give her the order forms back and tell her to do it herself. I may be overreacting but it sounds to me like she may be trying to set you up. We do fundraisers for my daughters dance team and there is 4 if not 5 of us who count to make sure everything is 100% accounted for. As of keeping her kids I hope you said no.

Wow. I am over fundraising with my daughters cheerleading competition squad. When we have any fundraisers or anything involving money, we always have two to three people there to take an accounting of the money and we sign our names stating that we all counted the same amount of money so there are no questions. This is very effective and with her being the president she should want another set of eyes if she didn't have anything to hide. I would not continue to help her if she treated me that way. Are there any other members that feel the same as you do? If so, I would try and get a meeting organized with other members so that everyone can come to an agreement on the accounting of the money. Good Luck.

First off do your PTA have a treasure? All treasure information need should be directed to that chair person. Your PTA should have bylaws and Standing Rules, inthere may have have information on how money is to be accounted for. Also what your pta is legally supposed to adhere to, can vary depending on whether or not they are Part of Texas PTA (which offer additional guidelines and rules as well as protection) then going to a national pta level.

Now as for whether or not it is PTO you should still have bylaws and standing rules. If you are the chair person the you should be the one turning in the deposits to the treasurer if you have one. In most PTA's for turnign in money cash moneys you need to two signatures on the deposit request form, if you ORG does not have a slips they should. to turn just checks, at this point with our local PTA bylaws does not require two signatures.

I do not what area you are in or whether or you operate as a PTA or a PTO. If you are in the latter, I found out if your district has a higher level of PTA invlovment you can go to for answers. Basically many PTA operates as follows. National PTA, State PTA, larger district, than local school district, than schools.

As a PTA member you have the right to question this, and it SHOULD BE alerted to the the board and the general membership. This PTA president, even if with good intetions, is holding not only her board, but herself in a legal nightmare.

I think maybe she's the one who can't be trusted. If an audit was ever done, then maybe some money would turn up missing. I agree with you, if she can't trust you with money, why would she trust you with the things that are most precious in this world.

If this continues, then I would turn everything back over to her and say that you really do not have the time that you thought you would to be able to help. It's not worth the aggravation and then if something happened, then the finger can't be pointed at you.

WOW!
I am a PTA member, & in our district the principal is alerted through our background checks of anyone who is not to handle money or anything dealing with $$. The PTA president is then made aware of who can't handle $. ALL our PTA members must have a background check as well as any volunteers.
We have strictly asked that only checks, money orders or credit/debit card be used for payment.
If order forms must be turned in & there is no carbon copy, we make copies for our records & note the form of payment.
I certainly would not let this person deter you from being involved, as I have learned that it gives your child a sence of pride to know that you are involved in any way possible!
I'm not sure how she is receiving the order forms w/$ before you, if being turned in to front office/teachers, I would let them know that you are responsible for collecting those forms.
In our PTA positions we run it, of course we tell the board what we are planning to do (@ board meeting)& if something needs discussing or needs to be fine tuned ...& continue on with the task.
There should also a budget for all fundraisers, so as long as you keep record of all $/order forms nothing should come out of your pocket. You have the right to ask any other PTA/O member to count $ w/you & turn it as a group.
I would talk to her, if your not comfortable doing it alone set up a time at school with the principal to discuss why she does not trust you. Maybe someone else said something to her & she is acting on it?? Let her know that you will continue to be srong & continue in your PTA/PTO position since you have committed no crime! We all know that involved & committed parents are scarce.
I hope this helps! Good luck, stay strong & continue to be involved for your children!!

Hi A.,
Sounds as if she is the one with the trust issue, I would be asking her what she is doing with the money if she is not the treasure. And this bit of you watching her child/children. WHAT I dont thik so. Conflict of interest. You need to put ths woman back in her spot and quit letting her run over you.
T.

Everyone is right about Texas PTA & National PTA requiring that there has to be two people to count the money as well as the treasurer. What they are not saying is that National & State require that the two counters be PTA BOARD MEMBERS. It cannot just be another parent. I was a treasuer for 2 yeasrs and have been on a PTA board for 5 years now. It is stated in PTA Standing Rules that counters of PTA money have to be board members. They are also right that there must ALWAYS be 2 signatures on all PTA checks. It is usually your treasurer, president and one other person on the board that can sign checks. Also if a check is made out to someone that is a signer on a check, then they may not signt that check, the other 2 signers have to do it. Hope this helps.

Who knows for sure but she sounds like a guilty person to me. If she is a dishonest person she might assume others are as well. She also might be over compensating for her guilt by accusing you. (to take the light of suspicion off of herself) I would be careful to make sure you keep track of everything as carefully as possible and have someone present to back you up and vouch for your honesty when you count the money. If you are honest you shouldn't have a problem with accountability but welcome it. If someone is resistant to it I would be suspicious.

I say stay away from this woman...she might have some issues that you don't know about and don't want to be involved it. Let another mom or two know what is going on (without gossiping), so that you aren't the one left holding the bag. And, I think you should very politely say that you don't know why she doesn't trust you with the money, but that you aren't comfortable watching her children because of the trust issue. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in something strange...
I hope this goes well for you....so sorry that you are having to deal with this!

I would take it upon myself to make sure someone else is there to count money and tell her if she can't trust you she should do it herself.. Anyway you will have more than enough to keep you busy with girl scout cookies... I have had a girl scout troop for 5 years now and work 2 jobs besides.!!good luck with your troop

I would start documenting everything from here on out, especially if no one is willing to help you count money. For example, on this date you recieved this amount in checks and this amount in cash. The pta treasurer needs to be involved in the money counting. If they aren't able to or you don't have one, I would ask the principal to make sure all the money for the fundraiser is delivered to the pta president first. Then the president can deliver it to you. Not saying she is doing anything suspicious, but if she doesn't trust you, you should cover yourself with documentation. It gets nasty in schools w/ parents. Learning that myself this year. That's just my opinion and advice. Good luck with everything.

IF it is a Texas PTA there are guidelines on counting money. There are to be 2 other parents to count as well as the treasurer. Each parent is to count one right after the other and sign off on it and then the treasurer do the same. The forms and guidelines are available online at the texas pta website.

Right on I would not watch her children if I were paid. She has her gull to ask you that when she told you she does not trust her so I would make sure in each deal you have another eye witness so she could never acuse you of doing any ill will. Most people when they do not trust someone is because they are not trustworthy. Beware. I have been a dead mark for being naive at times because I am honest and always look for the best in people. Never thinking about them not being dishonest. That puts a red flag in that corner. You can not trust her. Good Luck G. W

You are right to be concerned. I would brignthe money issue up asap that no one single person shoud lbe countign or held accountable for money. Maybe she is defensive becasue she is jealous of you or she i sfeeling guilt about something she did. If you are embarrassed to brign it up at a pto meeting you may want ot write an anomysous letter to the school withmultiple copies to those who can make things happen. And you are right, if doesn't trust you then there is no way i woudl watch her kids. If anything happened on your watch she'd be the first to accuse you of bad care. Personaly, i think she is jealous but the green monster can be very ruthless, bitter and mean. Don' try so hard to please her. Say a prayer she can find her peace and concentrate on making yoru pto good for you and the school. She doesn't sound like someone you need as a friend.

I was a PTA Treasurer last year, it is Texas PTA regulation that two people always be present to count money and it has to be deposited daily into the bank by the Treasurer. Where is the Treasurer in this picture? As long as two people are couting it and depositing it, I think this situation is ok.

Now, here is my question. Since you have the orders and are placing the order, wouldnt you know how much money should be accounted for? Just as a last measure of knowing if she is kicking some back or not.

I would alert your Council PTA about this issue.

One last thing, and not to be the black horse here, but I am pretty sure that it might be an issue that you are using a company for fundraising that you work with, especially with the fact you are in charge of ordering. Its called, Conflict of Interest. I may be wrong, hopefully I am!

GL!

Sounds like your PTA prez has some control issues. She is definitely not operating by PTA guidelines. The president should not even been involved in the money. That is the job of the Treasurer and Fundraising chair. Per PTA bylaws and rules, any time money is received, there should be two people to count the money and verify the totals. You can go to the Texas PTA website for these guidelines. If you PTA is not abiding by these guidelines, I would be hesitant to do any fundraising for them.

I'd hand the order forms back to her and resign as the chairperson of the fundraiser. There should be a system of checks and balances to protect you and the rest of the parties involved. Does she think she's the US Congress?

You seem to be involved with a very mixed up person. If there is anyway to bow out of this money raiser now -- I would cause you are getting mixed messages and I would be afraid of being in the middle of a mess--your word against hers. My gut instinct is to get out and pour your activities into your Daisy Troop where you are not being verbally abused and put in a situation that is a potential mess. If you can't then call a friend or two on the PTA and ask them to be present when money is being handled, etc. It would be better to have witnesses at all times to protect yourself. A.

If someone told me they didn't trust me I think I would have politely said to her "If that's so, then please feel free to find someone you feel comfortable with on this project. I'll be happy to turn it over to you, in the meantime."

A.,
If you want to continue to be active, in my opinion, I would cover my own a** and have two people with me anyway. Always!! As for the trust issues, she sounds like a control freak and then dishes out when she can't control...then later complains. Good luck...sounds lilke high school drama all over again. Hang in there...its for the kiddos.

Dear A.:

My question would be where is the PTA treasurer in all of this? I have been the PTA secretary and my hustand was the treasurer a few years ago. The people doing the specific fund raising would handle the cash, then turn it directly over to the treasurer. Our PTA president wasn't in the middle of it.

Since this is a money concern, I would suggest talking to the school prinicpal about it. The school prinicipal is ultimately responsible for cash running through the PTA at their school and needs to know if something strange is going on.

L. Ford, mom of a soon to be 13-year-old

I think I would adviser her very nicely that she can place the order since she does not trust you and that you were busy this afternoon. If she asks you why on the order advise her that you want her to trust you and in handing it all over to her makes her more comfortable then by all means. if she says no for you to do the order request that some other mothers stay with you and double ck all your addition etc. Hopes this help.

A.,
First of you need to make it clear to her that either she trust you or you aren't going to do it. Secondly, since she's ONLY giving you the orders let her know right away that you are not responsible at all if the amount is off. And even if she gives you money now, there is no way you can match them up. If she has all the money, you tell her to keep it, and you will give her the total. Don't let her give you the money now, respectfully decline it. Tell her this it the total, and this is how much money she should have. Tell her the next time, if she wants you to be in charge of the totals and money, you get it all at the same time. Then you'll know right away if something is off, if the kid didn't collect the right amount to begin with or someone hasn't paid. She'll also know she can't walk on you. If at all possible try to have someone there when you say it too.
I would still watch her child if you want too, again I'm not sure how close you are with her. Just don't let her take advantage of you.

First let me ask: What is your board position? Are you the Fundraiser Chairperson?

I was a PTA board member for 4 years, and President for 2 of those years. According to the the National PTA Organization there should ALWAYS be more than one person present when counting or handeling money. There shoud ALWAYS be two signature on every check that is written from the PTA account. There should ALWAYS be more than one signature holder on the bank account as well. Typically it is the President and the Secretary. If by chance those two people are related then there should be someone else that is also a signature holder on the account so that the two related persons never 2nd each other's signature.
If you are the Fundraising chair person then you SHOULD be involved in counting any money that comes in from the fundraiser. If you suspect that there is anything unethical going on in your school PTA, please notify someone at the State Level in Austin. visit www.pta.org to get a telephone or email contact.

D.
SAHM mom of two (18 and 5)

I know you have a lot of responses, but I had to respond too. I was previously the co-chair for our school's Fall Festival. I was soooo glad that there was a co-chair because of all the responsibility. We had about $19,000 in cash and checks funnel through us for this event. We profited a total of about $15,000. If I was responsible for all that myself, I would have been a basketcase.

However, we NEVER had anyone ask us about the funds. We could have stolen whatever we wanted to. Our Pres put us in charge because she knew we could handle the job and trusted us.

I agree with several other posts, that just MAYBE she is doing something with the money OR that she has some type of control issue OR whatever. I know you want to be involved at your daughter's school, but if I were you I'd tell the President to find someone else she trusts to do it and volunteer in a way that doesn't involve cash. But, remember one thing, this is HER deal and really has nothing to do with you.