The case of a former Lawrence teacher who has been convicted of embezzling funds from the local teachers union offers an important lesson to other businesses and organizations that handle money.

Wayne Kruse, a former sixth-grade teacher at Quail Run School, was a trusted and popular teacher and representative of district teachers who chose him as president of the Lawrence Education Assn., the organization that negotiates teacher compensation packages with the district.

On Tuesday, Kruse pleaded guilty to siphoning off more than $95,000 in LEA dues, some of which was supposed to have been forwarded to the Kansas-National Education Assn. He is set to be sentenced Oct. 3 and, although he would be eligible for probation, prosecutors say they will argue that he should serve prison time under laws addressing breach of financial trust.

Trust is the key word here. LEA members trusted Kruse. The lesson to be learned is that it just isn’t smart for businesses and organizations to operate on trust alone.

The LEA has learned that lesson the hard way and has implemented new safeguards to prevent future thefts. The group has pulled together, according to its leaders, and is moving forward.

Other organizations and businesses also should take note. Anytime a single person has sole authority over a group’s treasury, it leaves the door open for mischief. Being the treasurer of an organization isn’t the most popular job, and it’s tempting to keep one trusted person in that role. That’s fine but only if books and accounts are regularly reviewed.

In businesses, it’s often the long-time, seemingly loyal employee who is found to have dipped into company funds. That employee perhaps was so conscientious that he or she even passed up the chance to take vacations – a clue that the employee might not have wanted someone else making deposits or balancing accounts.

Trust but verify, as the saying goes. It’s wonderful to have trust in an employee or a colleague, but when it comes to the business of handling other people’s money, organizations and companies have to verify. The most trusted money-handlers will not only understand but will welcome such oversight.