Ponder Booster Club Out $21K, Parents Blame Fellow Member
Follow CBSDFW.COM: Facebook | Twitter
PONDER (CBSDFW.COM) - The Ponder Police Department is investigating after members of the Ponder Fine Arts Booster Club reported close to $21,000 in unverified expenses from the organization's bank account.
Booster club members allege that the money was mismanaged by a fellow booster club member with access to a debit card and checks to the bank account. They said that bank account transaction history shows multiple cash withdrawals of upwards of $500, sometimes several times a day.
"We ended up being in debt to the tune of $11,000," said Jack Cely, a Ponder Fine Arts Booster Club member.
Cely has two children who are part of the band. The organization works hard to fundraise through bake sales, working souvenir stands at the Texas Motor Speedway, and even hosting a yearly silent auction. "We thought things were great," he said. "We thought things were really rosy."
Until, Cely said, the bank called to alert them that the account was overdrawn. What's more, booster club members said that several bills had gone unpaid, leaving them in the red.
"The trust definitely was violated. We trusted this person," said Leah Leavell, Ponder Fine Arts Booster Club's secretary. She has two children in the band.
The booster club learned of the deficit in late December, and filed a police report about two weeks later. Ponder Police Chief Robert Genova said that there is a person of interest in the case. Neither the booster club nor the police department are identifying the individual, citing an ongoing investigation.
The news came after students had been invited to participate in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Festival. "[It's] a once in a lifetime kind of thing, something I'll be able to tell my kids and my grandkids about," said drum captain Jack Cely.
But with the funds depleted, their goals are put on hold. "I felt pity, initially," said his father, Cely Sr. "I feel somebody would have had to have some kind deficit of love, to be able sidestep their conscience and steal thousands of dollars from kids."
First Chair Ruben Hernandez, a high school junior, said that he would like to take his high school band on the road before he graduates. Students have not been able to take part in big band trips in over two years. He is still hopeful that Ponder High School's band will make music at the Peach Bowl in December. "We're going to come back 10 times stronger," said Hernandez.
Since the alleged theft, booster club leaders said that they have reorganized the booster club and put more checks and balances into place. Through fundraising efforts, the organization has been able to pay its debts.
You can help the Ponder Fine Arts Booster Club by visiting its Go Fund Me page.
(©2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
