Keys schools officials still don’t know why the former superintendent and finance director moved $500,000 in school funds into a Key West teachers credit union last year without telling the school board.</p><p>Interim Superintendent Joseph Burke said he learned of the two $250,000 certificates of deposit at Teachers Federal Credit Union just weeks ago when the credit union chief executive officer, Jerry Bolduc, asked for Burke’s signature authority on the accounts.</p><p>Burke said the transfer appears innocuous, but it raises major concerns over what else could have happened without the board, or anybody else, knowing.</p><p>“The fact there was a half-million dollars moved without the board being publicly apprised of it in any forum, where someone could have some institutional memory about it, that’s a concern,” Burke said. “Just how this happened is not good.”</p><p>At least three school board members have said they never knew about the transfer, although the CDs appeared since December 2008 on an investment report the board approved every month without discussion.</p><p>Board Chairman Andy Griffiths said he “vaguely” remembers a discussion about having some district funds at the credit union, which serves Keys schools employees, district administrators, students and their families.</p><p>“It just made good sense to not have all our eggs in one basket,” Griffiths said. “And what better place than where most of our employees do their banking?”</p><p>But other board members, and Burke, said one suspicious coincidence is that a credit union employee in April 2008 pleaded guilty to felony charges of grand theft and fraud for stealing $1.24 million from the credit union between 2002 and 2007.</p><p>The employee, Patricia Long, reportedly opened credit card accounts paid for by the credit union and purchased items at local and online merchants. Her boyfriend, a supervisor, reportedly signed off on some of the charges.</p><p>On April 30, former schools administrator Monique Acevedo was charged with felony counts of grand theft and fraud for allegedly stealing $200,000 in district cash. Two smaller theft charges have been added, and charges involving misuse of a school district credit card are pending, State Attorney Dennis Ward has said.</p><p>Her husband, suspended Superintendent Randy Acevedo, was recently convicted of three counts of official misconduct for allegedly trying to conceal some of his wife’s credit card purchases.</p><p>The scandal prompted an investigation that exposed several policy violations by Finance Director Kathy Reitzel, who has since resigned, and other employees who have been suspended and demoted.</p><p>Burke said school records show Randy Acevedo opened two $250,000 CDs at Teachers Federal Credit Union on Nov. 19, 2008, with one earning 3.25 percent interest over six months and one earning 3.5 percent interest over one year.</p><p>Burke said Reitzel approved and handled the electronic transfer of the money out of the district’s operating funds being held at First State Bank. Burke said the transfer appears to have been wired through TIB Bank, but he is not sure why.</p><p>Burke said he still “isn’t clear” why the money was transferred, but he said it’s possible school administrators were trying to help infuse capital into the credit union after the employee theft.</p><p>“There was some communication that basically suggests that the school district was trying to be friendly to the local teachers credit union, and that’s understandable,” Burke said. “But a concern is that it appears the credit union is not an accredited depository that we can use because they don’t have the level of insurance we require for public funds.”</p><p>Bolduc said the credit union carries the same level of federally backed insurance — up to $250,000 per account — as traditional banks, although it is not with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).</p><p>“Our credit union is very well capitalized and financially sound, and we pay above market rates,” Bolduc said. “As far as I’m concerned this was a totally legitimate transaction and was well above-board.”</p><p>Bolduc added that the funds from the school district would help district employees secure loans and other borrowing.</p><p>Assistant State Attorney Mark Wilson, who is prosecuting both Randy and Monique Acevedo, said his investigators found nothing in the Acevedo’s bank records that would indicate any borrowing from the credit union after the CDs were issued.</p><p>But, he said it might be worth another look depending on what Burke eventually uncovers.</p><p>“If it looks like there was something about why the money was put where it was, with some tacit agreement that if [the credit union] got that money they would return the favor [to the Acevedos], I will be happy to look into it,” Wilson said.