Wednesday, January 29th 2025, 6:06 pm
Owasso police are investigating hundreds of questionable transactions involving more than $100,000 from the Morrow Elementary Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) account.
Investigators say the unauthorized transactions have been occurring for years.
“Investigators have a big job in front of them,” said Owasso Police Lt. Nick Boatman. “They're going to have to look through hundreds of transactions, go through phone calls, emails, deal with vendors, find out what was purchased, who had access to not only these transactions but overall accounts.”
At this time, no charges have been filed, and no arrests have been made.
Owasso Public Schools said staff at Morrow Elementary first noticed discrepancies in the PTO’s bank account. However, the district clarified that PTOs operate separately from the school system, and it does not oversee how their funds are managed.
The PTOs commonly raise money through special events, and they spend the money on activities for students, the district stated.
The district also emphasized that no school funds are missing.
Marc Johnson, who lives near the school, said he was surprised to hear about the investigation.
“It’s shocking, it’s unfortunate that it went on for so long without being caught,” Johnson said. “Glad it did, hopefully we can get it fixed and these kids can get the money that they deserve.”
Boatman said investigators will need to determine who had access to the account and whether multiple individuals were involved.
“Unfortunately, this was money that was raised by hardworking parents, the students that took all the time to make that money, over years,” Boatman said.
Morrow PTO sent News On 6 the following statement:
"The Morrow PTO is an important part of the culture at Morrow Elementary and we will continue to work hard to support the students and educators of the school.
As this is an ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this time."
Owasso police say the investigation could take several weeks.
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