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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be the only person concerned that the PTA treasurer seems to have gone missing....

583 replies

PTAmissing · 16/05/2016 07:06

With all the PTA money?

She's been treasurer for years, no children at the school anymore.

She usually attends roughly 1 of every 4 meetings. She hasn't been to one for 6 months. She won't answer the phone or the door, doesn't reply to emails or texts. Chair went to her house and she didn't answer the door although it looked like she was in. We have no access to the money or accounts and the school is lending us money to get back off her at some indeterminate time in the future.

We have the school fate soon and she has all the info on stalls etc not to mention the money we need to buy things! She owes one of the parents about £50 for things they bought from their company for the PTA xmas fate.

Nobody else seems concerned! I really got angry about it at the last meeting and said this is ridiculous, we have no idea how much is in the account, we can't get hold of her, we have no working float. Apparently she has family drama at the moment and thats why she's unavailable but she still wants to be treasurer. I raised the possibility that there could be something dodgy going on and got shut down by the chair who said its not possible as there are two signatories on the account (because she couldn't just forge a signature???)

AIBU to think they should be taking this a bit more seriously given there is over £7000 (at the last count) of money that has been donated by the parents fgs, not to just sit in an account that nobody can get into?!

OP posts:
cozietoesie · 23/05/2016 19:01

I don't know the governance set up I'm afraid - this is one which could be very much affected by where the OP lives.

joangray38 · 23/05/2016 19:03

If you can remember all the dates write a timeline of who you spoke to, when , what was said and the outcome to keep for future reference. My mum had similar issues years ago (same scenario as you) and was told she should of done this for her own sake.

redexpat · 23/05/2016 20:51

Good move. As the pp suggests write a quick account of who you have communicated with, when and what was said. Just in case. It sounds as if yo have dodged a bullet.

Sunnymeg · 23/05/2016 21:05

Alarm bells ringing here as well. The fete is in a few weeks and there is lots to sort out. Hardly the time to cancel. Governors need to be involved now. Well done for raising your concerns and keeping on with it. At least you can walk in to the school playground with your head held high.

Original poster
PTAmissing · 23/05/2016 21:10

Didn't put a read receipt on any of them .

A few hours ago I did get the email from the chair (supposedly sent this morning) that the meeting was cancelled. Then another email saying sorry for the mix up everyone thought I had sent email when I hadn't. Meeting has been rescheduled for later this week.

I just want to reiterate again, I don't believe the Chair is up to anything dodgy. Poor communication and a lack of delegation/clear responsibilities yes. Dodgy no.

OP posts:
Original poster
PTAmissing · 23/05/2016 21:12

Missed the whole point of that post which was to say there was no acknowledgment of the email I had sent! Her email was sent after so I presume she's seen it.

Did get email from concerned mum saying she understood why I had resigned and she's also not happy but is carrying on with the committee.

OP posts:
AugustaFinkNottle · 23/05/2016 21:39

It could be worth pursuing it anyway despite your resignation, on the basis that the money the treasurer is in charge of is money you helped raise, and it's money for the benefit of all the children in the school.

quietbatperson · 23/05/2016 22:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

cozietoesie · 23/05/2016 23:26

When is the school due for its next inspection?

Bolograph · 23/05/2016 23:58

When is the school due for its next inspection?

The finances of the PTA are nothing to do with Ofsted.

Bolograph · 24/05/2016 00:00

I can't remember if you've said if it's a Local Authority school or not - if it is I would call the Unitary or County Council and asking to speak to someone about your concerns about possible financial mismanagement. If it's an academy chain, then speak to them, if a CofE VA school, then speak to the Diocese.

It's none of those bodies' business, either. A PTA is not, contrary to what some appear to believe, part of the school. It's an entirely independent body that happens to share some people and has roughly aligned objectives. That's all. If the PTA chair pockets all the cash and leaves for Bermuda, the only interest might be that if there were evidence that the head were criminally involved it would be a disciplinary matter, for the same reason that any other crime of dishonesty would be. But if the treasurer with the "help" of poor governance loses or pockets the money? Why would any of them care, and what do you think they could do? They simply have no locus.

cozietoesie · 24/05/2016 00:11

Indeed not, Bolograph, but a thriving, well managed and happy PTA is usually a clear signal to inspectors of the good health of the whole school community. It would certainly be something that I would evidence if I were an HT.

(And, sadly, vice versa.)

I would assume that the HT is an ex officio member of the PTA, and the school is certainly using the money it raises. I believe the HT has a role to play in this kerfuffle.

Baconyum · 24/05/2016 02:24

In this case though there are school funds which have been diverted to the pta to cover the treasurer's cock up/fraud. Action fraud and the police I think would be interested enough to investigate.

MiscellaneousAssortment · 24/05/2016 12:03

Gosh, so badly mishandled, you are wise indeed to exit this dysfunctional mess!

Original poster
PTAmissing · 24/05/2016 20:18

update

The whole thing took a very strange turn today. Email from Chair this morning asking me to please reconsider resigning. She is also very concerned about the situation and agrees something needs to happen ASAP, would I come to the meeting on Friday?

I replied and said I didn't think I would and that I'm very concerned that treasurer and float may not arrive on fair day.

She said yes she was too but treasurer is refusing to talk to her after she offered help after the last meeting.

I said how did we know she would turn up?

She said all we have is the conversation treasurer had with concerned mum.

I said I thought chair had spoken with treasurer she said no concerned mum had, treasurer refusing to talk to her! I asked why she had said she had spoken to her and she said she meant to say concerned mum had spoken with her! I asked if head is aware and she said not to the extent that treasurer won't speak to her. Would I please come to meeting on Friday and help out with the discussion.

I am going to email now and suggest police/fraud people.

OP posts:
StealthPolarBear · 24/05/2016 20:30

Yes do thay but otherwise not your problem!!

teablanket · 24/05/2016 20:32

Crikey, what a mess!

TizzyTime · 24/05/2016 20:34

OP, please go the meeting - do it for the thread Grin. All your instincts were right.

Tiggeryoubastard · 24/05/2016 20:34

I try not to jump to conclusions but they're not leaving much option, are they? I'd go over their heads now and report to any authorities you feel relevant. Lies and prevarication left, right and centre. And Friday it'll be 'oh PTA knew as well'. Chair is a bit thick to commit this to email.

cozietoesie · 24/05/2016 20:34

Copy that email (with read receipts if you can) to the HT et al.

MiscellaneousAssortment · 24/05/2016 20:35

Oh no, that's even more bonkers and iffy!

Did the emergency meeting ever get called in the end? (sorry, I read it all when half asleep during the night so I find myself a little fuzzy on some points)

The head sounds rather ineffectual, and the chair - surely the chair needs to talk to the head and fill her in about the reality of the situation and that action is now needed urgently,

Seems everyone is bending over backwards to pretend everything is fine. It's like that thing, I think it's called Bystander Syndrome, where everyone just stands and watches as an emergency unfolds and no one steps in to help as no one else is stepping in, so no action is needed, or surely someone else must be doing something so I don't have to... All the committee are just standing around taking each other's inaction as a cue for more inaction and lots of closed eyed feet shuffling 'la la la Nothing going on here' when it's all going tits up!

P1nkP0ppy · 24/05/2016 20:35

Curiouser and curiouser op.
I'd stay out of it, resignation was the move. There's something fishy going on now the Chair's back tracking 😳

cozietoesie · 24/05/2016 20:36

I suspect that the Chair simply doesn't know what to do, Tigger.

TennesseeMountainPointOfView · 24/05/2016 20:40

I think the Chair knows something needs to be done but is desperate not to be the bad guy, and she wants you at the meeting so you can be the one to bring up all the problems, and try to force some action from somebody. She can then use you as her excuse.

cozietoesie · 24/05/2016 20:44

Can the summer fete be saved? (Even if there are ructions going on behind the scenes.) I'm not sure that the school and community would easily come through if it were cancelled.