McHenry County Blog

Daily Herald reporter has written an article saying a secretary who is alleged to have stolen over $100,000 over a two year period from student activity funds has been arrested at a traffic stop.

She was indicted two weeks ago, the story says, but the police couldn’t find her.

It certainly has taken a long, long time.

Back in January I asked School Board President Joe Stevens what was happening and he sent me this email:

“Regarding the $100,000 suspected lost from the student activity fund, we have now completed our forensic audit and it does validate such a loss occurred.

“We fully expect to recover all of the money through our insurance provider.

“The matter now rests with the States Attorney awaiting further action.

“You may feel free to use this in your blog.”

The 46-year old woman who was arrested is Lisa Burkhart-Foster and she lives in East Dundee.

The money disappeared from 2004-2006.

In an August 6, 2007, letter to Daily Herald reporter Emily Krone, District 300 School Superintendent Ken Arndt releases a timeline which includes

• 2005 : Central Office employees identified concerns with student activity accounts and began pursuing answers to their concerns
• September 2006 (after the rate hike and bond referendums, I would note): D300 launched a series of proactive steps to research, define, and correct the root cause(s) of the bookkeeping problems.
• July 2006: D300 filed a police report on the matter with after determining that embezzlement was probable.
• July 2007: D300 filed papers in Kane County Circuit Court seeking financial documentation to help answer the remaining questions, which are relevant both to District’s insurance claim and possible criminal charges.

Click to enlarge.

The theft was discovered in 2007 while the 55-cent tax hike and $185 million bond referendum was on the front burner.

A forensic auditor was brought in…to prove up the case, I guess.

The regular District 300 auditor found nothing amiss.

It doesn’t rectify the mistake I made yesterday, but it is interesting that Carpentersville School Superintendent Ken Arndt forgot that the school district had filed a police report with village police about the missing student activity money.

I imagine that some staff member noticed the Daily Herald’s Chris Bailey column on Sunday that complained about District 300 not having gone to the police and said,

“Hey! Wait a minute. We went to the police.”

That wasn’t my take. What came to my mind was how the district had suppressed the information until after the two 2006 tax hike referendums and the 2007 school board elections.

The Daily Herald’s Emily Krone put this in her story’s second paragraph:

“Last week, District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt mistakenly said the district had not told police about a problem with funds at Dundee-Crown High School.”

The Northwest Herald’s David Fitzgerald put it this way:

“District 300 did file a police report about the more than $100,000 in missing student activity funds at Dundee-Crown High School, Superintendent Ken Arndt said Monday.

“Arndt said last week that the district did not involve police in the investigation of the missing funds or the former secretary who was in charge of the books.”

One or both mentioned that District 300 did not file a police report until after its insurance company told it to do so. This was well after the discovery of the “stolen” money.

Also of interest was that most of the money being handled was cash.

Both pages of the police report may be enlarged by clicking on them.

It doesn’t rectify the mistake I made yesterday, but it is interesting that Carpentersville School Superintendent Ken Arndt forgot that the school district had filed a police report with village police about the missing student activity money.

I imagine that some staff member noticed the Daily Herald’s Chris Bailey column on Sunday that complained about District 300 not having gone to the police and said,

“Hey! Wait a minute. We went to the police.”

That wasn’t my take. What came to my mind was how the district had suppressed the information until after the two 2006 tax hike referendums and the 2007 school board elections.

The Daily Herald’s Emily Krone put this in her story’s second paragraph:

“Last week, District 300 Superintendent Ken Arndt mistakenly said the district had not told police about a problem with funds at Dundee-Crown High School.”

The Northwest Herald’s David Fitzgerald put it this way:

“District 300 did file a police report about the more than $100,000 in missing student activity funds at Dundee-Crown High School, Superintendent Ken Arndt said Monday.

“Arndt said last week that the district did not involve police in the investigation of the missing funds or the former secretary who was in charge of the books.”

One or both mentioned that District 300 did not file a police report until after its insurance company told it to do so. This was well after the discovery of the “stolen” money.

Also of interest was that most of the money being handled was cash.

Both pages of the police report may be enlarged by clicking on them.

Guess I should have picked up on what Karen Plaza (wife of Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza) said after the meeting held by State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon at the Lake in the Hills Village Hall on October 24, 2005.

She was complaining about the state’s having just required a separate accounting of student activity fees and how she was having trouble coping with it.

It looks like a lot more was going on.

A July 8, 2006, “Board of Education” memo from Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates cited a lack of student activity account reconciliation at Dundee-Crown High School as of May 31, 2006, and reported that.Plaza was “actively working to straighten out the accounts.” It concluded that “the (money) has been stolen.”

But the Carpentersville Police report shows a May 2004 date, as you can see if you enlarge the small image. It says “finance Assistant” Plaza estimated theft of $60,000 to $113,000 in December of 2005.

Am I too suspicious to point out that my conversation with Plaza, not to mention the May, 2004 in the police report, was before the tax hike and the bond referendums, while May 31, 2006, was shortly thereafter?

And all of the dates were way, way before the April, 2007, school board elections.

On Jul 6, 2006, the District’s Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., presumably a representative of District 300’s insurance company, wrote District 300 that it had hired forensic auditor John Peters & Associates; on August 9th Gallagher’s Rue notified the district that he would no longer be retained.

In an August 6th letter to Daily Herald reporter Emily Krone, District 300 School Superintendent Ken Arndt releases a timeline which includes

• 2005 : Central Office employees identified concerns with student activity accounts and began pursuing answers to their concerns
• September 2006 (after the rate hike and bond referendums, I would note): D300 launched a series of proactive steps to research, define, and correct the root cause(s) of the bookkeeping problems.
• July 2006: D300 filed a police report on the matter with after determining that embezzlement was probable.
• July 2007: D300 filed papers in Kane County Circuit Court seeking financial documentation to help answer the remaining questions, which are relevant both to District’s insurance claim and possible criminal charges.

I have asked District 300 why the second listed date is not in chronicle order.

No answer yet.

Maybe it should read “September 2005.”

To see the Carpentersville Police Department Report, click here.

Guess I should have picked up on what Karen Plaza (wife of Lake in the Hills Village President Ed Plaza) said after the meeting held by State Senator Pam Althoff and State Rep. Mike Tryon at the Lake in the Hills Village Hall on October 24, 2005.

She was complaining about the state’s having just required a separate accounting of student activity fees and how she was having trouble coping with it.

It looks like a lot more was going on.

A July 8, 2006, “Board of Education” memo from Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates cited a lack of student activity account reconciliation at Dundee-Crown High School as of May 31, 2006, and reported that.Plaza was “actively working to straighten out the accounts.” It concluded that “the (money) has been stolen.”

But the Carpentersville Police report shows a May 2004 date, as you can see if you enlarge the small image. It says “finance Assistant” Plaza estimated theft of $60,000 to $113,000 in December of 2005.

Am I too suspicious to point out that my conversation with Plaza, not to mention the May, 2004 in the police report, was before the tax hike and the bond referendums, while May 31, 2006, was shortly thereafter?

And all of the dates were way, way before the April, 2007, school board elections.

On Jul 6, 2006, the District’s Gallagher Bassett Services, Inc., presumably a representative of District 300’s insurance company, wrote District 300 that it had hired forensic auditor John Peters & Associates; on August 9th Gallagher’s Rue notified the district that he would no longer be retained.

In an August 6th letter to Daily Herald reporter Emily Krone, District 300 School Superintendent Ken Arndt releases a timeline which includes

• 2005 : Central Office employees identified concerns with student activity accounts and began pursuing answers to their concerns
• September 2006 (after the rate hike and bond referendums, I would note): D300 launched a series of proactive steps to research, define, and correct the root cause(s) of the bookkeeping problems.
• July 2006: D300 filed a police report on the matter with after determining that embezzlement was probable.
• July 2007: D300 filed papers in Kane County Circuit Court seeking financial documentation to help answer the remaining questions, which are relevant both to District’s insurance claim and possible criminal charges.

I have asked District 300 why the second listed date is not in chronicle order.

No answer yet.

Maybe it should read “September 2005.”

To see the Carpentersville Police Department Report, click here.