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Stealing is one thing. Stealing from children is somehow worse. "We need to put trust back into the community," said Sarah Shakespeare. She's President of the Central Okanagan Parent Advisory Council. Shakespeare said people are right to question their faith in these groups after not one, but two PACs in the Central Okanagan had PAC members allegedly helping themselves to funds that were supposed to be there for students. It happened at Glenrosa and then at South Rutland. Shakespeare paid us a visit at KelownaNow to tell us what's being done to give the public confidence again.
"What we're trying to do is to make sure that everyone knows that this can happen," said Shakespeare. And she admits there's no guarantee that there isn't more. "With it coming out to the public now that this has happened within our school district twice in one school term, who knows what other schools have been taken advantage of."
All of the district's 41 PACs are being encouraged to have a new look at their accounting procedures, and how money is handled. "When money is being raised at the school or off the premises for a school event, two people or more should be counting the money," said Shakespeare.
A big fundraiser at Glenrose Elementary has already replaced $11,000 of the $22,000 that was stolen. At South Rutland Elementary, a $20,000 theft has left the cupboards bare and faith in the volunteers is shaken.
"This is how I feel it may go." said Shakespeare. "Parents may say, 'I'm not going to go to that fundraiser.' 'I'm not going to to go to that event. Because our money was stolen."
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