Board defends handling of communications
Parents say they have been kept in the dark over missing fundraising proceeds
Ottawa-Carleton District School Board officials believe the board did everything it could to inform parents at Leslie Park Public School about nearly $15,000 in fundraising proceeds that went missing from the school’s parent council coffers over a three-year period.
But that didn’t sit well with some parents Friday, who expressed frustration about being left in the dark over the scope of the alleged fraud, which resulted in a police probe — but no criminal charges — after the school’s newly elected treasurer discovered the council’s account was in arrears when he took over the job in 2014.
The council determined at least $14,839.41 was missing from their account after reviewing banking records. The previous treasurer had failed to keep financial records, a violation of board policy.
OCDSB executive officer Michele Giroux said the school district had already “supported” the school council in communicating with parents about the missing money, and efforts to improve its financial management practices — even though parents on the school council complained that the school board’s efforts were heavily watered down and vague.
Giroux cited two newsletters, saying, “This information should and has been shared with the school community.”
But when asked if the board did enough to communicate the scope of the issue with parents, trustee Anita Olsen Harper said, “The answer to that is fairly obvious.
“When parents work hard (to raise money) for a certain purpose over many months and perhaps years, and suddenly they become aware of it,” said Olsen Harper, “that is not good communication in my personal opinion.”
That seemed to be the case outside the school on Friday. Of the five parents who spoke to the Citizen — all of whom had been involved with the school for at least two years — only one had even heard of the missing money.
“Nobody knew anything about it,” said parent Christine Thomson, who was aware of the missing funds. “Reading (the newsletter), you would think maybe there just wasn’t proper documentation. There was nothing in there that would lead me to believe there was (an alleged) theft or fraud. It just sounded like it was someone who didn’t keep great records or was sloppy with the paperwork.”
In one newsletter from Spring 2016, it states that in September 2014, “we noticed discrepancies between the balance of the parent council account and the balance that was reported in the June 2014 council minutes. Our research identified transactions that could not be fully accounted for between 2011-2014.”
The newsletter does not mention the amount of money that went missing, but outlines several enhanced preventative measures, including, “providing year end and monthly reports, co-signing of all financial transactions, moving all council funds into the school monitored financial system, publishing meeting minutes and background checks on those who are handling money.”
The second newsletter referenced by Giroux makes no mention of the missing funds, but provides several tips for other school councils to ensure better financial management and oversight.
On Friday, the principal sent a letter home to parents, following the publication of a Citizen report on the missing money, saying the school district had reimbursed the school for the full amount.