Dist. 300 looking at bank records of former secretary

Community Unit District 300 officials are investigating whether the student activity fund at Dundee-Crown High School is missing more than $100,000, and whether a former secretary stole the money.

District 300 officials Friday filed a civil petition in Kane County Circuit Court asking for bank statements, deposit receipts, canceled checks and federal income tax returns of a former Dundee-Crown secretary.

The district also sought deposit slips from the student activity checking account at MidAmerica Bank.

The request has not yet been granted. A hearing has been set for Nov. 13.

The district has been investigating accounting discrepancies at Dundee-Crown since an employee last year aired concerns about the student activity account, Superintendent Ken Arndt said Wednesday.

The bookkeeping was so shoddy, Arndt said, the district has been unable to determine whether money was actually missing, and whether criminal activity occurred.

"The records leave a lot to be desired, and that's one of the main problems we've had with the investigation," Arndt said. "We've looked at every possible evidence we have, and we need to go to the next level."

The investigation centered on the secretary who was responsible for balancing and transferring money into and out of the account between March 2004 and May 2006, according to court records.

On May 5, 2006, district officials reassigned the secretary, pending an investigation into her handling of the student activity fund and checking account, according to court records.

Two days later, the secretary applied for medical disability leave, according to court records.

As of April 2006, the district claims, the secretary had overstated the balance in the student activity account by $100,672.54, according to court records.

The district also claims the secretary failed to reconcile the student activity fund with the checking account and maintain balances for individual students activities, according to court records.

The district filed a petition in court because it could not collect on the insurance money for the missing funds without taking further steps in the investigation, Arndt said.

The district has not filed a report with Carpentersville police, police said.

"That does not mean the police won't be involved in some way," Arndt said. "It's ongoing."