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

[PTAmissing]

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?!

You have to remember as well that we're very close to summer holidays now - when people will simply be 'unavailable'. It needs to be sorted before that point.

she was elected/appointed Treasurer because she is in the pta clique. they know more than you regarding the reasons for her being incommunicado. They will exclude you for bringing this into public purview. I am not saying you are wrong, but pointing out the group politics at work. They have their real meetings when you are not present. If their kids are in their last year at this school they will be moving on and it may be worth your while to stay put, otherwise you will not be reelected , so better to leave with a protest-recorded in the minutes hopefully.

Ahem, I am the clique

Hmm. My own experience of such groups is that there is sometimes a disproportionate influence exerted by one or two long term members - generally, those who actually turn up to meetings - but that that doesn't mean the whole group is united or happy. Things change and events sometimes change them.

Been on the PTA for 6 years now!

Glad to hear that this is progressing, PTA - do keep us updated. The likeliest explanation is that there's nothing sinister afoot and the Treasurer has genuinely been involved in her personal affairs, but it would be neglectful of your duties to let things lie any longer. Treasurer will probably be mightily relieved to have her PTA duties off her hands, whether this is temporary or permanent.

Refresh your mind on the constitution and play it by the book.

It doesn't really matter how good her reasons are for being incommunicado, though.

There's all sorts of innocent reasons why being a PTA treasurer might have fallen to the bottom of her priority list.

The issue is that she's not doing her job as PTA treasurer. If she can't commit to it right now because of family illness or other personal reasons, then she should hand it over to someone who can commit to it, even if it's just a temporary handover until things are resolved and she once again is able to commit herself to doing it properly.

If she's reluctant to do that, for whatever reason, then the PTA chair should really be taking charge and doing whatever needs to be done to get a replacement or temporary treasurer in place.

You're right.

Sadly, people sometimes become disorganised but manage to trundle along until events overtake them.

It's a situation that needs to be regularised directly.

Good luck for the EGM

Glad the EGM has been called - they normally have to be held pretty damned quick don't they? Hope it gets sorted

but are you in the inner clique?

Hope it works out ok.

Hope the outcome is non dramatic and swift

#iamtheclique

#youcantsitwithus

Yet another update no mention of EMG yet, will speak with concerned mum tomorrow. Emailed chair about something else that needs doing for the fair. She emailed back and said that's the treasurers job. I'll talk to her next week.

Well, if the treasurer isn't there, then they can't do whatever the job is for the fair, can they?

I think you do need to push for the meeting. My uderstanding is that when a meeting is called and seconded, it has to be set up asap. So I'm suprised you've heard nothing yet about possible dates and so on.

Haa the meeting been called yer OP. Perhaps you could propose it and other concerned mum could be seconder.

This is ridiculous! Why doesn't the head etc do more? This has to be sorted.

Every day this drags on with the treasurer refusing contact is a day wasted and potentially - assuming there is money still left - a day where the money can be protected.

The head needs to contact the bank urgently.

Why are these people so wishy washy?

Why can't anyone else get bank statements? As pointed out above, anyone who's a signatory is entitled to do so.

No meeting has been called. I'm resigning from the committee as of today. Concerned mum was convinced by chair that meeting was unnecessary and over the top. We could 'just go to the bank and get another signitory put on'.

Resigning because everything is being done outside of meetings, over text messages, half the committee aren't even aware of what's going on. Situation is ridiculous!

This is what happened at one local school:

www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/west-heath-school-governor-jailed-99852

It's a governing body treasurer, not the PTA, but the principle is the same.

You've made your position clear. I don't blame you for resigning. It's a ridiculous situation.

That's awful

Well you did your best. The summer fair is going to be a nightmare without a float.

Without a shred of evidence this person seems to be being accused of all kinds. Yet the committee will be able to access the account via the signatories and has failed to do so.

There could be nothing adrift whatsoever other than somebody having life pressures that have overtaken voluntary work priorities. They may have informed the governors information why they are off the scene but data protection prevents them telling the pta.

Be careful with what you say and write. Libel and slander are still illegal.

For the sake of balance, just a shout out of thanks and support for the thousands of pta volunteers doing a great job, including the treasurers who have by far the shittiest job on the committee.

OP, I really feel for you. It's so frustrating to be in a situation where it's so clear and yet those around you are so desperate not to actually DO anything about it. Your point about stuff happening outside of recorded meetings also paints a very poor picture of the other committee members.

I hope for your school's sake that it isn't a case of theft - when it happened at our school it was awful and the ramifications went on forever.