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It only makes sense that the leaders of a PTA chapter can add.
So when the numbers in a group’s financial records didn’t add up, they figured somebody had been subtracting.
On Wednesday, Jackson County prosecutors charged Mary A. Ward, 31, the chapter’s former treasurer, with stealing from the PTA chapter at Blue Hills Elementary School in Independence, Mo. The school is in the Fort Osage school district.
The official charge is theft of at least $500.
Court documents say the missing amount is closer to $22,000, including $1,250 collected from parents to pay for a class trip.
The alleged crime came to light more than a year ago in August 2011 after Ward, wrapping up her term as treasurer, turned over the chapter’s financial records to other officers.
It didn’t take long to notice the discrepancy. An informal audit by the chapter found $18,538.98 in unauthorized withdrawals, documents say.
Ward had recorded the $1,250 from parents for the trip as new revenue, but no corresponding deposit could be located.
In an affidavit filed with the court, Jackson County Sheriff’s Detective Russell Beach said chapter officers said they also found an unauthorized debit card associated with the account. The card was in the name of Ward, documents say.
The Blue Hills chapter’s board members told Beach that Ward presented a financial report each month.
None of them had any idea of a problem, Beach said.
