Oceanside parent allegedly stole thousands from PTA

A member of the School 8 PTA in Oceanside was arrested March 22 and charged with grand larceny after she allegedly stole $5,000 from the PTA, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

Cindy Sommer-Fleisig, 44, is accused of stealing money from the PTA from November 2010 to August 2011, including funds that were meant for a retirement party for the school’s outgoing principal, Ron Schoen.

Sommer-Fleisig, a member of the PTA who was appointed to handle fundraising and membership services, faces up to seven years in prison if she is convicted.

“It’s bad enough that this defendant thought she could get away with stealing from a volunteer organization, but to victimize the young students and dedicated faculty of an elementary school is outrageous,” Rice said.

According to Tony Iovino, a local attorney who is representing the PTA, the alleged theft was discovered last fall, when the incoming School 8 PTA co-presidents, Lori Chodash and Lisa Dempsey, found discrepancies in the PTA’s financial accounts. After an internal PTA investigation determined that money had been taken, Iovino said, Chodash and Dempsey turned the matter over to the district attorney.

“I think that the two people here that should receive recognition are Lori and Lisa,” Iovino said. “They handled this situation exactly as it should have been done. They changed the way that the PTA handles money going forward to try and prevent this problem from repeating.”

The School 8 PTA has put in place standard accounting security principles, such as making sure that every financial transaction is authorized and reviewed by separate people, Iovino said.

Sommer-Fleisig allegedly received check reimbursements for items she claimed to have purchased but did not, such as office supplies, school awards and New York Knicks tickets, and used the money to pay her personal expenses.

According to Iovino, the PTA hopes to receive at least partial reimbursement, but he added that Chodash and Dempsey believe that the total amount of missing money is closer to $10,000. Iovino acknowledged that the district attorney’s office has “a different burden of proof” from that of the PTA.

Sommer-Fleisig did not yet have legal representation as the Herald went to press on Monday.

“I think it’s horrible to take students’ money and parents’ money,” said Superintendent Dr. Herb Brown, “and I know the PTA has already put into place better controls as we move forward.”