Where did the school funds go?
[attach]1599[/attach]An investigation into an apparent misuse of school funds is underway at a local elementary school after parents raised a red flag late last year.
The Toronto District School Board recently held a closed-door meeting with parents to discuss the status of the investigation at Owen Public School.
School trustee Gerri Gershon said the meeting was an opportunity for parents and the board to be updated on what some see as mismanagement of monies raised by the parent council for a variety of school equipment and supplies.
“It seems that the board policy was not followed so there might not have been proper bookkeeping.”
Gershon said the board first became aware of a potential problem in October 2009 when the parent council began asking questions regarding funds raised for school items that didn’t arrive in a timely manner.
As a result, Steve Howard, the school’s former principal, and an unnamed member of the school’s office staff were put on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, said Kelly Baker, board spokesperson.
The board has confirmed that Howard no longer works at the school and has since retired.
Contrary to previous reports, Christina Lawrence, co-chair of the school’s parent council said the issue is not of stolen funds but rather of responsible oversight.
“The money is not missing,” she said. “We’re just questioning the accountability of the funds. So in some cases the money obviously didn’t go where council approved the funds to go.
“We raise on average about $70,000 a year and as you can see we’re only questioning $50,000 within the last five years.”
Gershon said because of the poor record keeping, it’s difficult to determine exactly how much money may be unaccounted for.
“I have no idea where that figure ($50,000) came from,” said Gershon. “We don’t know because there’s still an investigation.”
Gershon said she’s received mixed feedback from parents but understands their frustrations.
“When you have a trust in somebody, such as a school principal, and you do a lot of work for that organization, this can be very shocking.”
The board is in the process of making recommendations to prevent such incidences from re-occurring, said Gershon.
She said the board is going to examine how often the principal should report back to the council on the money spent and who would have signing authority for the accounts.
While frustrations remain, Lawrence said she’s satisfied with the way the board is handling the situation.
“They’re helping us … they recognize there are some irregularities and there will be financial address, so we’re confident,” Lawrence said. “It’s been hard on everybody, the kids, the teachers, the new principal, and the board but that’s the past and we are moving forward.”