PTO leader accused of embezzlement in North Carolina

FROM THE WILSONTIMES.COM  -

The man who called for “one voice” in Wilson County’s school system is accused of having had one hand in the PTO funds at Jones Elementary School.

The Rev. Robert Nicholas Andrews Jr., of 3701 Ashbrook Drive, was arrested and charged with 247 counts of embezzling money from the Jones Elementary PTO fund. As of Friday evening he was still being held in the Wilson County Jail under a $190,000 secured bond.
Sgt. Wanda Samuel, spokeswoman for the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, said Andrews became the PTO president in June of 2010.
“He was solely responsible for collecting and depositing fundraiser money for the PTO for Jones Elementary,” Samuel said.
Officials said the investigation began when the principal of Jones Elementary, Eddie Hicks, notified the Wilson County Board of Education about the school receiving past due notices of bills that should have already been paid.
“Jones Elementary School Principal Eddie Hicks reported his concerns about the financial activities of his PTO to the Central Office in June after vendors started asking him questions about delinquent bills,” said Amber Whitley, public relations director for Wilson County Schools. “In early July, Central Office asked the PTO for the financial records. Upon inspection, it was noted by Central Office that serious internal control issues existed within the PTO’s records along with questionable documentation. After a comprehensive review, the records were turned over to the sheriff’s department for investigation.”
“The investigation led to the Rev. Andrews being charged with 247 counts of embezzlement where over $30,000 was taken from the school’s PTO account,” said Samuel.
When the school system was facing huge financial cuts for the current school year, Andrews initiated efforts to encourage people living in Wilson to take an active approach in addressing the budget cuts.
In an earlier interview with The Times, Andrews said education affects everybody in Wilson County and when people think about moving “they first look at the health of a school system in that area. So the status of our schools directly affect whether people move here ...”
Andrews facilitated several town hall meetings and discussions around Wilson addressing concerns parents had when the system was facing a huge budget shortfall.
Now, the Jones Elementary PTO is facing its own shortfall.
“The Parent Teacher Organizations are independent, self-charged organizations that operate outside of school system regulation,” said Whitley. “By Board of Education policy, school system and individual school accounts are audited by an independent third party annually. PTO accounts are not school system accounts.”
Whitley said the funds raised by a PTO organization are kept in a separate bank account and never in the school system’s account.
“A PTO’s financial records are not subject to a mandatory audit by the school or the district but may be surrendered voluntarily for inspection. Purchases and expenditures as well as cash trails related to fundraisers are not subject to a mandatory audit by the school system,” Whitley said.
“Fundamental financial practices” would require PTOs to schedule their own audits, Whitley said.
A principal cannot be a financial officer in the school’s PTO organization. They can be aware of practices of their PTO such as when, where and by whom deposits are made.
As a result of this arrest, principals have been asked to meet with all of the clubs and organizations within their school.
“Principals have been advised to meet with the clubs and organizations within their schools, such as booster clubs and PTOs, and become more involved as far as the finances are concerned,” said Assistant Superintendent Tommy Finch.
“I am sure that the parents and teachers are disappointed with these incidents,” said Wilson County Sheriff Calvin Woodard. “This money should have been used for our kids and for appreciation to the school’s staff — not for Mr. Andrews’ personal gain.”
This is the second incident of funds being embezzled from school-related organizations this calendar year.
In March, Wanda Michelle Batts, 49, was arrested and charged with 37 counts of embezzling funds from the Beddingfield Athletic Boosters. She allegedly took more than $8,600 over a six-month period. Her case is still pending in the court system.