PTO Thief!

GO! Report it to the principal, school board, AND police! EVEN if you had the money there is NO reason that YOU should pay for this!!!

what choice do you have ? why are you worried about causing problems in the school? talk to both the principal and the PTO president at the same time and show them the receipt. I wonder if other people are having the same problem?

Don't hesitate to go to the principal! Sometimes PTOs get confused and think they are the government of their own little countries.....don't delay!

Of course bring it to the principal's attention. It's $450.00 and to ask someone to just pay it again is insane. You have a receipt to show that you turned that money it.

If they have a theft, it needs to be addressed ASAP.

Hold onto your receipt. Never hand it over to anyone else. Email the principal and Cc in other administrators and PTO members detailing your entire story and request a meeting to get this resolved. Having your story electronically filed is important. Phone calls and in-person conversations cannot be documented.

Let them know that the fiscal responsibility of your school is extremely important to you (and to all tax payers) and that to ensure that your school's books remain above board to protect other parents from such irresponsible accounting, you will go to the police AND your local paper AND your local news station with this issue if they do not absolve you of their wrong doing AND if they do not pursue finding where this $450.

For me, it would not be enough that they stop asking me for $450...I would want them to trace the loss and then put controls in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.

The only thing I have to add is to make several copies of the receipt and have the COPIES with you when pursuing this. Keep the original at home in a SAFE place. Let them know you have your original when needed, but they can take the copy and look into it on their own.

Do not pay, go to who ever you have to to report the theft and get it made right. Start with the principal and work your way up, even file a police report if you have to.

The fact that the president wants you to pay out of pocket rather than get to the bottom of what happened would have me questioning whether she was involved.

YOU are NOT responsible for this problem..
I was a PTA President at 2 different schools I can tell you.. Part of the PTA requiremants is that the elected board all be insured.

Your PTO has a choice.. Either confront the person that wrote the receipts and have her return all of that money.. or Call and Report this THEFT to the police. You must do this as soon as you all have a total amount that is missing.. I bet there are other parents in the same situation

At the High school level we had a mom that was in charge of the Grocery cards.. She stole $7800.. we tried to speak with her, but fshe would not respond in a clear way. She would cancel our attempts to meet with her.. finally we just filed the police report. She was arrested and released.. the Insurance reimbursed us. We kept it as quiet as possible since her daughter was still a student at the school.. But we had to have that money back for that scholarship ..

Report it all the way up the chain.

I would follow this up until that thief is made to give back the money. You shouldn't have to pay another $450, and that woman needs to be caught. Of course you should go to the principal.

Definitely dont give up your receipt and you should suggest they prosecute the ex pto member that clearly skimmed the money. Don't let them bully you. I'd say you should go to the principal, the principal should know about this type of stuff! You cant be the ONLY one, there are probably other student monies missing as well maybe? Ask around.

I find it odd that you wouldnt go straight to the principal with this, what are you waiting for?

Definitely report to the principle..I'm concerned why the lady you spoke to would insist on you paying the balance over a technicality that she didn't authorize it. This isn't your issue to fix, but the schools. As others have said you probably are not the only one with missing money!

Go to the principal with your receipt immediately and tell him about the lady quitting and that the book is missing!

I would ABSOLUTELY go to the principal.

YOU are not causing problems, whomever stole the money is!

((And make sure you scan & or photocopy that handwritten reciept... someone will undoubtedly want a copy and you do NOT want to end up "somehow" without it.))

Stick up for yourself. I would go to the School Principal and tell him or her that if you are not cleared you go to the police and turn this women in. I would not pay one cent nor would I get more candy. Your receipt is your proof, if that is not good enough tell them to go to hell!

You need to write letters to the principal, the school board president, and the district administrators. Make copies of your receipt, document everything you have been told, what the PTO president said, when this other lady quit, show your withdrawal or check stub, make copies of everything and mark out your account number. We had this happen and many more than just the secretary were involved, the president too, and another lady. All were arrested.
This is a crime, call it fraud, grand larceny, theft. She needs to be reported.
Plus Google PTO theft, gracious, this is more than just your school.

I would go strait to the principal and tell them that I am not paying a darn thing more and that the person you gave the money to better either come up with it or they better call the police and have her arrested for theft!
As far as the person who keeps telling you you didn't turn in the money , I would threaten her and tell her you will be having her looked into for theft also if she does not go after the person who took your money in the first place!! I would not stand for any one calling me a thief!!! Also you said that the carbon copy was missing too? Well how did that happen? Whoever had that book in their possession should be the one under fire NOT YOU!!!!
Call the police if they refuse to investigate because that is considered grand theft, $250.00 or more is a felony, go after it and clear your name and make her eat crow!
Good luck and God bless.
Please keep us informed of what happens.

If what you say is true, and this happened to me, I would call the police. Of course I would also alert administration that I was about to do so. An investigation is in order.

You could talk to the principal or, my favorite choice, you could email him/her about the situation. Ilike email b/c you have a hard record of what was said and you can think about your choice of words.

Honestly, what are they going to do if you don't pay? I'd be tempted to not say a thing and ignore their requests. If this ever went to small claims court, you would win, hands down, with the evidence (and their lack thereof) you have. If anyone asks, say you paid it, can prove it, and that's the end of that.

Go to the principal, make a couple copies of the receipt and do not pay a penny. You already paid and you have proof!!!

Wow-you should not worry about causing problems. Talk to the principal tomorrow about this. Obviously the secretary that 'quit' took the money. The PTO will need to formally investigate this. Perhaps they caught her and just had her resign to avoid any ugliness. Its the only reason I can think of why the president is not trying to get to find out what happened. As the PTO president for my school I would do everything that I could to get to the bottom of this if a parent came to me with this.

Go to the principal for sure. You have a receipt, that's what receipts are for. It is not your fault that the PTO has something fishy going on internally. It is there problem to find the money. Your receipt proves you paid. Don't give them a dime more.

I say you need to go to the principal show him your original receipt but give him only a copy (keep your original). If you turned it in to the Secretary, whether she quit or not, she is now responsible.

I'm presuming the secretary signed your receipt? Then you are covered! Don't think the PTO prez really wants to go after the other lady, but she must - or you and any others should definitely be talking w/the police, etc as you probably aren't the only one she has told to do this same thing.

GO TO THE PRINCIPAL!!! and if that doesn't solve it - GO TO THE SUPERINTENDENT!!!
They are obviously trying to pull something over on you and maybe others. Do not let them! Don't forget, they are doing this to your son also.

You aren't causing a problem, you have a receipt what happened shouldn't have happened. Go to the principal and if that doesn't work go to the superintendent of schools. From now on do what I do and pay for everything with a check. And DO NOT give them another $450 you already did that once.

Why not report it, unless you have $450 to pay. That's a lot of money. I would be making sure they know you paid. You have the receipts!

Dear Armymomof2:
The fact that they have a thief in their organization does not makes you responsible for what the theif stills. If you have a receipt that the person who left gave you, then they should take it up with that person.
If I was you I would go to the president, it is her responsibility to get the money from the other lady (ex-secretary), you have a receipt and you are not paying for it. They might have to press criminal charges on the ex-secretary if necessary. She was "their" secretary not yours! therefore you are not responsible for that!!!
I would also go to the principal and let him/her know what is going on! Just make sure that you keep the receipt and make a copy of it and keep it home just in case.
Blessings

Dear Armymomof2, That is a lot of money! I think you MUST go to the principal. the story as you tell it is so clear. The woman quit, the book is gone and the carbon of the receipt! I too have been a member ot Parent Teacher orgs and it is quit a responsibility. This is a bad time of year and that money is tempting. Anyway, you should not suffer for this. Congrats to your son... good job :-) Grandma Mary

I would go to the school principal. Sounds like that lady extorted $. I don't know where they get off telling you that you have to replace the money when you have a signed receipt showing that you turned it in. Then they wonder why parents don't want to participate in fund raisers. It is a pain in the a$$~~ I don't know what is wrong with people these days.

No go straight to the principal you should have done this in the first place.As a person to authorize any checks this wouldn't of happened in my school it is me and another mom who run the PTO we are the only parents who have shown up to meetings the past 2 yrs.That is a large amount of money does anyone else have notes that they paid but show it wasn't I would certainly start asking.

Oh boy, what a mess. I think you will have to go above the president's head to clarify this situation. She cannot simply state that the secretary quit and therefore you owe money you already paid. You will need to get either the principal or the police involved if the president will not see reason.

Theres a reason you were given a receipt. You have it. Whether or not the internal organization didn't do their job correctly is not your problem, its theres! I would not pay a dime!

Geez--the secretary quit...that seems fishy. Maybe a little guilt ridden? I would most certainly go to the principal. You did your part, now they should do theirs.
I would almost consider filing a police report. If $400 was stolen out of your house would you?

I would definitely not pay out of pocket and they should not expect you to. If things are "missing" and haven't been done by the book then it's obvious there is foul play and they should not ask you to cover the cost. It's their responsibility. Go to whoever you need to go to that will authorize you to not have to be responsible for this and make copies of the receipt you have but do not give it away until it's been resolved.

The PTO has a charter through the school district, that is how it works at our school. The principal should have some role, either as an advisor, or on the board. I would go to him, and ask him to straighten it out, and if he does not, take your recepit and your story to the superintendent. This is embezelment, and your PTO president is shameful for expcting you to just come up with 450 bucks more. I just got done as PTO president of my school, and her responsiblity was to go to the principal herself, and prosecute the secretary for theft. That is what should happen.

As for clicks, we don't all behave that way, and if you are helping out at school, and selling candy, you are PTO. PTO does not really happen at the meetings, or social events, it happens when we flip pancakes, raise money, and paint carnival games. It is not the people...it is what they acheive to make the school a better place for kids and teachers. You are the real PTO. You can also make a difference and change how people look at your group by leading in a more graceful way than the current group. It can be done, and you should do it, though, you will find that people think that even if they have never met you, nor know anything about how you behave, just becuase you decided to make your school better...through the work.

M.

Yes, I would go to the principal. I would never risk them blaming me for the missing money and at our school the principal is a board member of sorts on the PTA and involved. Not saying something lets a thief get away with it and you would be blamed.
ADDED: The police and national PTA should also be involved.

The police need to be involved. No maybe about it.
Embezzlement, theft, misappropriation of funds - what ever you want to call it - it's a major crime. Thousands of dollars might have been stolen.
And since the PTO money is for the students - it's not really like they are stealing from you so much as it is stealing from the kids.
How in any way can raising a stink about stealing from the kids be a bad thing? All the parents should be outraged!
Letting it go leaves the students vulnerable to being stolen from again.

I would make copies of the receipt and then go to the Principal. You are NOT responsible for the money if it was handed in. Signs point to the secretary.... (money and book missing). good luck!

I agree with D.P. I would file a police report, as I would if any crime had been committed.

I might let the "President" know that this is your plan, just in case the money might magically reappear. I would also, as Tori suggested, see if there weren't some auditing procedures you could institute in order to protect your kids (sad that this is necessary).

I would not worry whether they liked me or not. You are fortunate enough to have kept the receipt, so you can't be accused of hiding something yourself. Someone who would steal from kids is nothing more than a bully, and bullies rely on others' fear to get away with their actions. Don't let them do it.

Oh, my! You are not causing problems at the school - the thieves are! Make three copies of your receipt. Go to the principal and tell her/him what happened, showing the original receipt, but only give her/him a copy. Call the president of the Board of Trustees of your child's school district - their number is on the website of the school district with the names of the trustees. They are the real bosses - they hire and fire the principal and teachers - I'd think the PTO is under their aegis, too. Provide a copy of your receipt and the info to the president of the Board of Trustees, too. They'll get to the bottom of it. If they don't, then write your State Assemblyman, sending a copy of the receipt.

WOW!!! That is crazy. I just started in the school system with my 5 year old. I hope this isn't what it's all about. I've seen the PTA clicks already, and that's annoying enough. But to deal with a thief.Ug! The school was awful in how they initially handled it. I wouldn't give them one red dime. Maybe they need to screen better who they hire.

Why wouldn't you got to the principal? They don't have any hesitation implying that you didn't turn in the money. You have to always look out for #1 and not worry about causing problems that you didn't create. What's right is right. Wrong is...well...wrong! Remember you're advocating for your child, not for the sake of peace.

$450 is a lot of money. It's not your fault nor should it be your problem that the secretary quit. You have your carbon copy treceipt. Make a stink and go to the prinipal. You paid them, they lost the money - they need to find it. End of story. Don't give them another dime.

It sounds like former secretary has grabbed the money and run with it. That's a crime! It's embezzling! Why should you pay for it? You didn't commit the crime! Go to the Principle with your recipe (make copies of it first) and tell them they better call the police and have her arrested for embezzling from the PTO Treasury! If this happened to you, it may have happened to others that also paid. Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MORE MONEY!

Call the police. It's no different if you had $450 snatched right out of your hand! The principal may be more willing to listen with a police report in hand.

Go to the cops! We had someone stealing from little league and she was finally arrested.

Go to the principal. The woman has no right to demand you pay for someone else's theft. That's unethical of her. She should be legally pursuing the woman who quit. She stole from the school- that's not your burden.

Good luck!

I know in the schools around here, there are video cameras. . .Does your school have them and were you in an area that there was one?

If your PTO is part of a state or national organization they should have audit procedures in place which tells them exactly how they need to do their volunteer jobs in a way that prevents something like this. (proper checks and balances).

That doesn't help this situation but hopefully the PTO president and principal will follow up on this. Otherwise I think your PTO will have a very hard time raising money.

This is always wierd to me, first that someone would steal, steal from a school (kids) and to top it off, think they won't eventually get found out if the first two aren't a deterrent? Odd!

If you turned in this money and have a receipt, and the PTO president is not being responsive, then go to the principal and let him know you're going to turn the matter over to the police. You have a receipt, which I hope is signed by the former secretary. You don't need to worry about causing trouble, it sounds like someone was embezzling money , you didn't do anything wrong. Did you turn in cash or a check? Paying $450 in cash is a mistake.
If the PTO is missing things and the secretary suddenly quit, they need not to protect her within their clique, and need to turn her into the police.
I hope you can get this taken care of, good luck

For future reference a PTO has non-profit status thru the state. They are required to act like any other business or lose their status. As part of the school they must also answer to the school district. You could have gone to the school district with receipt in hand and asked them to do an audit -- which could shut down the PTO. I can't believe that they tried to put the burden on you for their obvious failure to handle money properly. You followed their financial procedures. Also they are required to have a bank account and therefore can accept checks (I'm not sure why they don't).