February 6, 2015
Homer PTO implements reforms
HOMER — The Homer Elementary Parent Teacher Organization, which police said lost $12,000 to theft, has instituted new rules regarding the administration of funds and the accounts are back in order, acting President Melissa Burt said Thursday.
The Homer Police Department charged former PTO President Kurt Kleefeld on Jan. 9 with grand larceny and falsifying business records, felonies, after an investigation found he stole more than $11,900 from the organization, police said. He is due back in courtTuesday.
The PTO passed the new rules increasing oversight of the group’s funds at the December meeting, Burt said. The board submitted a document listing the changes to the Homer Board of Education at its Jan. 27 meeting.
One of the changes is the creation of an internal auditor. This is another member of the PTO tasked with reviewing the organization’s financial records in conjunction with the president and treasurer, Burt said. Accounts are also being reconciled, with receipts and invoices presented for every purchase.
The PTO amended the organization’s procedures partially in response to the theft, Burt said, adding she had wanted to update the way the group kept its finances since she joined in October 2013.
“Last month we did our first audit and it went very well,” she said.
The organization’s reforms also include a checks and balance system on the handling of proceeds from fundraisers. Kleefeld is accused of taking advantage of the lack of such safeguards. Now, someone must count and sign off on the proceeds from a fundraiser and then a different person takes the funds to the bank to get a deposit slip.
Any purchases are to be made by check to create a financial record, while the purchased items are to be inspected to ensure all items listed on an invoice were actually bought.
In a statement to police, PTOTreasurer Barry Kerner claimed Kleefeld stole approximately $11,983 from the organization from October 2012 to August 2014. Kleefeld took $5,136.91 from the PTO’s First Niagara checking account, $4,623 from the organization’s 2013 Yankee Candle fundraiser and $2,223 from the PTO’s 2013 Harlem Wizards fundraiser, according to the statements.
Kleefeld admitted to stealing more than $2,500 of the money and using it while he was unemployed for car payments and other personal expenditures, according to a police statement.
If convicted of third-degree grand larceny, Kleefeld could face up to seven years in prison, according to state Penal Law. The other charges carry a sentence of up to four years in prison upon conviction.
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