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Tennessee Comptroller's Office

An investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury has revealed that the former treasurer of the Spring Station Middle School Parent Teacher Organization “falsified signatures” and held an “unauthorized raffle” in 2022.

According to the Comptroller’s report, the group's former band booster treasurer, who was not named, was “dismissed” by the Spring Station Middle School PTO Board on Nov. 14, 2022, after the Comptroller said that she falsified signatures on documents and “operated an unauthorized raffle” in 2022.

The school is a part of the Williamson County Schools system in Spring Hill, and the Comptroller's office began the investigation after “allegations of malfeasance” were made.

The report details that from Aug. 15 - Sept. 22, 2022, five cash collection documents from concession were falsely signed, four of which were signed by “the former treasurer's family member who counted the cash collected from the event but never actually worked at the event.”

Investigators reported that the names signed were people who actually worked the event, and that they “were unable to determine if any additional funds were collected that were not included in the documents’ collection totals.”

The report states that the band booster collected a raffle table fee during a December 2022 holiday fundraiser, which they said did not comply with the Tennessee Nonprofit Gaming Law.

The report reveals that the former band booster treasure did not deposit complete collections from at least nine concession sales events, having deducted "band-related expenses," and the funds were not deposited within three days of collection, both violations of the state's Model Financial Policy.

The report also found that the band booster "failed to implement adequate segregation of financial duties," as well as failed to maintain appropriate documentation for the collections and did not ensure that board members reviewed and reconciled bank statements.

The Comptroller's investigation only reviewed select records from Feb. 1, 2022-Dec. 21, 2022, and the results of the investigation were sent to the Office of the 21st Judicial District Attorney General for review.