WEST UNIVERSITY, Texas – The West University Elementary School Parent Teachers Organization paid significant amounts of donated money to a Houston Independent School district administrator for years until an internal investigation last spring determined the payments were improper.
The school's PTO sent out an email to parents in July saying financial irregularities sparked a review of payments made to a school employee for expenses last March.
According to the letter, the PTO board decided to keep the investigation confidential, bringing on an attorney, a forensic consulting firm, accountants and a certified fraud examiner...all providing their services free of charge according to the letter which went on to say in part:
“The results of the review indicate that certain reimbursement requests made by a single school administrator over a period of several years were inappropriate in that they lacked adequate supporting documentation, there were inconsistencies in the underlying supporting documentation provided, and in some instances, it appears that supporting documentation had been altered prior to submission to the PTO.
Based on these findings, the executive board believes that these reimbursement requests were improper and the person who submitted the reimbursement requests had not incurred the expenses claimed and was thus not entitled to the funds paid as reimbursement.”
The letter also stated:
"...the amount at issue is not insignificant."
The letter did not identify the administrator, state exactly how much money was paid out, or when the payments began.
Many parents queried Monday weren't aware of the investigation ... and those who were aware of it didn't have many details.
"The email was very vague. It didn't give a whole lot of information. Probably get more information on Google or something else,” Deannna Villalobos said.
“I feel like it was caught, everything was caught and it's good," Michael Maxim said. “We're back on track and if it's taken there is nothing we can do about.”
H.I.S.D Press Secretary Jason Spencer declined comments saying, “PTO's are independent organizations. They are not subject to district oversight and they are not funded with tax dollars.”
PTO president Karen Yeager told KPRC that aside from the statement issued July 21, that “Given the sensitivity of this matter, the PTO has no further comment.”
The investigation and its results don't appear to have been reported to police or the Harris County district attorney.
Some parents identified the administrator involved as a woman who committed suicide last May after the investigation was opened. However, police looking into her death still have not made a positive identification of the body, which was badly burned.
The PTO statement issued in July says:
“The executive board is considering the PTO's available options, in consultation with our legal counsel, including any avenues we may have to recover the funds. The executive board has also formed a special committee to review the advisors' recommendations regarding improvements to the PTO's existing financial procedures. The executive board is committed to ensuring this cannot happen again.”