$67,000 in athletic funds disappeared at Bak Middle

About $67,000 in athletic and other funds disappeared from Bak Middle School of the Arts, investigations by the Palm Beach County School District concluded.

But the State Attorney’s Office determined there was not enough evidence to charge anyone with a crime.

The school district began investigating in February 2015 after Bak’s athletic director complained that money from concession sales and other fundraisers was not showing up in account records.

After he reported there should be adequate money to pay a vendor for basketball uniforms and sneakers, $7,500 was improperly transferred into athletics from other school accounts, including the theater and communications programs, district investigators concluded.

A review by school police also found $10,000 in cash had been turned in and recorded on a log, but the deposit was covered with white correction fluid. Other logs were missing. One was found in a shredder, the police report states.

The district’s inspector general said the school violated district procedures on collecting money and has recommended that school staff undergo training.

School police had a suspect and turned the case over to the State Attorney’s Office. But prosecutors said they couldn’t file charges partly because there was too long of a lag time from when the money went missing and when it was discovered.

“There were no accounting procedures in place that would have allowed for an earlier discovery of this theft,” wrote Assistant State Attorney Timothy Beckwith. “There is no video surveillance of the area where the drop should have been made in the office where the funds are counted.”