Thursday, February 04, 1999
School worker put on leave in missing $10,000
Funds allegedly taken from fees at Lakota
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
UNION TOWNSHIP — A Lakota Freshman School clerical worker has been put on paid administrative leave and faces possible felony charges in the disappearance of $10,000 from an athletic fund.
The allegations against the employee, who has not been identified, have left some parents wondering how the missing money could have gone unnoticed.
Much of the money came from parents who paid $65 for their children to participate in fall and winter sports and cheerleading. Other missing checks include the schools's share of vending-machine sales.
Lakota Superintendent Kathleen Klink said the district has recovered about half the money, in uncashed checks.
“We have found she was successful in cashing some checks,” said Alan Hutchinson, who has been Lakota's treasurer about four weeks. “No one knew the deposits were not being made. We think they were being held in her drawer at school and then taken home.”
The money was supposed to have gone into the school's general fund to help cover coaches' salaries, transportation costs and other expenses.
Police are contacting parents who paid the fee to determine whether their checks had been deposited.
“I find it real disheartening,” said Terri Fischer, who heads the school's parent teacher group, and whose daughter was a cheerleader last fall at the freshman school.
“I have worked at all levels as a volunteer in this district and I have no doubt it will be handled properly.”
Linda Blanton, a freshman school parent, said she was “kind of shocked that it happened at all. You always hope nothing like that happens at your school. You hear about it at other places.
“The only question I have is, I wonder why did it take so long to find out what was going on? I don't know the circumstances or how long it takes to process checks.”
Mr. Hutchinson admitted the system for keeping track of the money was “not as good as I'd like it to be. She circumvented any controls we had. We were in a transition period between treasurers and no one knew deposits were not being made. We are attempting to get restitution for any money lost.”
Even before the discrepancy was discovered, the district was reviewing and making changes in the collection and deposit system, Mr. Hutchinson said.
“We are going to institute tighter controls. But no matter how many controls are in place, we have to rely on people's honesty. No matter how good your plan is, it's never fail-safe,” he said.
School officials were alerted to the alleged scheme Jan. 27 when a Star Bank employee called to report that someone was trying to deposit school checks into her personal account, said Jon Weidlich, spokesman for the Lakota Schools. Officials contacted Union Township police.
Capt. John Bruce said police discovered a discrepancy between records of what parents paid and what was deposited in the bank.
“We did find there was a problem and funds were being diverted,” Capt. Bruce said. “We feel it is isolated to this year only and only at the freshman school.” Capt. Bruce said charges probably would be filed early next week.
About 150 students participated in fall sports or cheerleading and another 75-85 are involved in winter sports or cheerleading, said Stu Eversole, athletic director for the Lakota schools.
“We have outstanding people who work with our kids,” Mr. Eversole said. “I wouldn't want this to taint their image. We do our best to provide quality opportunities for our students.”
The employee under investigation began working part time at the freshman school in July 1997, Mr. Weidlich said. Last August, she began working full time. A routine criminal background check done on all employees showed nothing unusual, Mr. Weidlich said.
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