Lawrence Police are looking for $97,000 in union dues deducted from schoolteachers’ paychecks that didn’t reach the Kansas-National Education Assn. from its Lawrence affiliate.

Police suspect theft and forgery and that it was an inside job.

“The investigation is ongoing,” police spokesman Dan Ward said Thursday.

Last month, the Lawrence Education Assn., a K-NEA affiliate, notified the state organization the money was missing. K-NEA reported the theft Dec. 16 to Lawrence Police.

LEA president Sam Rabiola alerted the group’s 585 members to “problems with the dues transmittal” in an e-mail Wednesday.

Rabiola said he learned of a discrepancy between the union dues deducted from members’ paychecks and the amount forwarded to K-NEA shortly after taking office in August.

“We’d gone through a change in leadership, and it wasn’t long before I learned that not all the dues had been forwarded on to K-NEA,” Rabiola said Thursday.

“I rather naively thought this was something I could sort out, but once I got into it I realized it was above me,” he said. “I’m not a CPA, I don’t have a degree in accounting.”

Rabiola, an English teacher at Free State High School, succeeded Wayne Kruse as LEA president. Kruse teaches sixth grade at Quail Run School.

Copies of checks from the school district forwarding dues to K-NEA through LEA during the period in question were obtained by the Journal-World. Most were endorsed by Kruse.

It appears the shortfalls occurred while Kruse was LEA president from 1999 to 2004.

6News video: Police seek missing LEA funds (01-06-05) Kansas National Education Association

Kruse did not return calls seeking comment.

“Everyone, I think, deserves to be innocent until proven guilty,” Rabiola said. “That’s certainly the case here. I’d like remind everyone that there’s still an awful lot we don’t know.”

Rabiola said he had tried to talk with Kruse and other LEA officers about the problem but received no adequate response.

“I’ve asked others for information,” Rabiola said. “Did I get that information? No, I did not.”

Rabiola said he asked K-NEA to take over the investigation.

“They’ve been very helpful,” he said.

K-NEA officials later went to police with their preliminary findings.

“I’m not at liberty to say much,” said David Schauner, K-NEA general counsel and a member of the Lawrence City Commission. “The matter remains under investigation.”

The $97,000 represents the amount missing from about $240,000 in K-NEA dues deducted from members’ paychecks between Nov. 4, 2003, and Aug. 3, 2004.

For about 10 years, Rabiola said, USD 497 has deducted union member’s dues from their paychecks and, in turn, forwarded two checks to the LEA — one made out to LEA, the other made out to K-NEA.

LEA dues totaled a little more than $1,500 a month; K-NEA dues ranged from $21,000 to $22,000 a month.

Rabiola said the district agreed to cut separate checks in an attempt to reduce the local union’s accounting procedures.

“They used to cut us one check and then (LEA) would have to sort it out,” he said. “After awhile — because the amount of money involved, tax consequences and the time it took to keep everything straight — we had trouble getting anyone to be treasurer.”

Splitting the payments, Rabiola said, was LEA’s idea.

“I want to make clear that the school district did everything it was supposed to do,” Rabiola said. “It’s done nothing wrong.”

Rabiola said he would meet with LEA members Monday and Jan. 20. Neither session is open to the public.

“I’m striving to be open and transparent,” he said. “I intend to take whatever action is appropriate, but at this point, I have to say I’m not sure what’s appropriate. I’m new to this.”

LEA, he said, is financially solvent despite the missing funds. The union represents about two-thirds of the district’s 900 public school teachers. In each pay period, member teachers have $42.18 withheld from their pay for K-NEA dues and $2.73 for LEA dues.