The Board of Education and I have received numerous phone calls and letters regarding the embezzlement of district funds, in addition to the many questions raised at recent board meetings. While we always make every effort to respond individually to everyone, I would like to take this opportunity to answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

Why didn't the board notify law enforcement authorities about the theft?

Our initial response, upon learning of the theft of district funds, was very much the same as that of our residents who are learning about it now: We were shocked and angry. We also felt betrayed by the actions of this individual who had risen to a position of trust and responsibility in our school district and proceeded to violate that trust. The board and I engaged in a difficult decision-making process about the appropriate course of action, one that would not merely satisfy our own desire for retribution, but which would be in the best interests of the school district.

Our goals, which we have stated previously, were to remove the individual from the school district immediately, get the money back as quickly as possible, and make sure she could never perpetrate this crime against another school district. We sought the counsel of a criminal attorney, Thomas Hession of Hession and Bekoff in Mineola, who is a former assistant district attorney. As a former prosecutor, he was qualified to advise us, in writing, that the district was not required to file criminal charges. Our personal desire may have been to see the woman punished, but we truly believed that it was not in the school district's best interest to initiate a criminal prosecution and the negative media attention this would have brought down on our school community.

Of course, if we had known then everything we know now, we would certainly have taken a different course of action.

Why was the individual who stole the district's money allowed to retire and collect a pension?

Pensions are paid by the New York State Teachers Retirement System (TRS), not by the school district. The TRS has told us that while some states have forfeiture provisions in their public pension systems, New York does not. In fact, we have been told that there are people in prison in New York State who are collecting public pensions. We agree with those who feel that this is unjust and outrageous, but the law does not enable school districts to take away an individual's pension.

Who is the district's auditor?

First, let me clarify the roles of auditors in school districts. Every school district is required, by law, to conduct an annual audit. The board employs an independent auditor - in recent years we have used the services of the firm Miller Lilly & Pearce - which reports its finding to the board of education every year in the fall. In addition, the board employs a second auditing firm as an internal auditor. The internal auditor visits the district every few weeks and reviews and approves every payment made with district funds. Since the discovery of the theft a year and a half ago, the district has employed a new firm as its internal auditor - R.S. Abrams & Co. - as one of a number of measures taken to tighten our fiscal controls to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

It was the independent auditor who notified about the $250,000 in stolen funds uncovered in October 2002.

What action is the school district taking to recover the stolen funds?

The district received restitution in the amount of $250,000 in the fall of 2002. We have notified the district's insurance carrier of the possibility of an additional loss. We have also undertaken civil action against the former employee. And we are fully cooperating with the criminal investigation being conducted by the Nassau County District Attorney.

In future columns and/or letters to residents, we will address more of the questions and concerns that have been raised.