This stinks of corruption. Good luck on all the red-tape bullshit you have to go through. I hope that, due to her wealthy position in the community, she doesn’t have strings to pull. I really hate when that happens.
Dissolve her in a vat of acid.
Put me in the ‘something smells crooked’ camp. If I’m reading this right, parents paid their kids’ tuition for the fall semester (at a minimum) at the end of August, and the first paycheck of the school year isn’t paid until the beginning of October. Then ISTM that, even if she’s mangled the bookkeeping terribly, there should be money to meet the August 3 summer school payroll, even if you’re not the only one who’s been shorted on their August paycheck.
It’s time to talk to any of the Trustees you can get hold of.
Bump. Any new developments, Phouka?
Last Friday, I received two bank checks - one for my paycheck and one for the art supplies I’d purchased. She hasn’t paid me for the bank fees, which ran about $400, but at this point, I’m willing to call it even. Plotting revenge just takes a lot out of a girl.
I’d gone to a member of my church for advice, as he’s an education consultant, and to my surprise, he knows my principal. His son was in one of her classes when she still taught for another school. He apparently handles some of the accreditation processes for private schools, and if he’s in charge of hers, then she may be under some strict scrutiny.
The mom of one of my former teachers called me only yesterday to ask for tutoring for one her science classes. I get a massage in return 
I haven’t decided whether or not I’ll tell her. I’m leaning towards telling her, as this sort of financial incompetence has a direct effect on her child’s education.
Thanks to all of you for your support and kind thoughts. It really made the difference in getting through this.
My personal opinion? As long as you’re secure in your current job - you have no obligation to keep quiet about this mess. Tell whomever you think might find it interesting.
If she’d made good your various bank fees I might feel differently, as it is, she effectively stole $400 from you - she doesn’t deserve any slack. And if she did it to you, she might do it to someone else.
I don’t understand. I’m not your employer. I can’t use your information in the OP to piss phouka off.
I feel cheated.
Suggestion:
Take the checks to the bank they were drawn on, and cash them there. That way if they bounce, you are not out any additional fees.
Don’t forget: fuck me once shame on you, fuck me twice, shame on me.
phouka, if you don’t tell, the underlying problems at that school may take longer to be exposed and (hopefully) corrected. The parents who pay the tuition of the kids there deserve to know what is going on, and to know where their money is going.
If she was just trying to screw you over because you no longer work there…other teachers need to know it could happen to them.
You are a much more forgiving person than I am - I would be going for my $400 in bank fees just because of all the grief she put you through. Then again, I do have a wide streak of bitch I can tap into when needed.
I always misread the thread title as “How to piss the phouka off”.
They were counter checks, cut directly by the bank and not drawn on any checking account. My credit union treated them like cash. I should be okay there.
I’m tempted to email her and say, “okay, you’re good on this, but what about the fees you promised me? Am I going to have to take you to small claims court?”
I haven’t been able to find any contact information on the Board of Trustees, which is frustrating. If I decide to pursue this, I’ll probably have to dig through the state beaurocracy and see if I can get a record of it. I just don’t want this to be a vendetta. When she screwed me over, she lost a teacher that’s credentialed for English, Art, Science, Social Studies, Health, and Gifted and Talented. Just me being there saved her from hiring two or three other students and made scheduling that much easier.
It’s not even the money so much, it’s the week she left me dangling and panicked, the broken promises, and the refusal to deal with me honestly.
You should absolutely do this. It’s not implementing a vendetta. It’s simply recovering from her what she stole from you.
Don’t even think about giving up. Keep drilling her for the bank fees and start charging her interest on the amount. Back date the interest to day one when you first incurred them. Continue sending her certified letters demanding payment. If she hasn’t coughed it up after the third one, sue her in small claims court. That’s what it is there for, is situations just like this.
Okay, the email is sent, and I’m also sending a certified return receipt letter with the same demand. I’m giving her until the 15th, seeing as she’s already had a month.
I went through my bank statement and added it all up - $341, or nearly half of the original paycheck.
I will be glad to close the door on this when it’s done.
The important thing is the follow through. If you do not have a check in your hot little hands on the 15th, you better be filing the paperwork bright and early on the 16th. Do not accept any more of her delaying tactics or excuses. 15th is D-Day. Don’t forget to add court filing fees to what she owes you.
Keep plugging away at locating the Board of Trustees…I think they’d be veeeerrrryyy interested in this saga.
Well, I’m pretty sure she’s gotten charter school status, so if nothing else, it should be on record somewhere with the state.
Of course, that’s the state of Texas. This could take a while.
Bumping for an update.
???
Hey, VunderBob, thanks for checking in.
About the time I posted the last note on this, I was hit by a really bad bout of depression. It was fairly sudden and totally brutal. So, instead of following up on small claims court (because, of course, she never did come through), I concentrated on staying afloat.
I’m better now. Much, much better. The depression is under control. I have a fabulous teaching job at a stable (and how) private school. I thought about pursuing this and decided that the $341 was not worth the aggravation of chasing my former boss down through the system. The money simply isn’t worth the grief of beating up a former friend.
Deciding not to go after her took a huge weight off me. I just wasn’t up to girding my loins for combat or hardening my heart to her - admittedly self-inflicted - misfortunes. I do want to thank all the Dopers who read my rant and gave me encouragement. It meant a huge deal to have my stress and storm validated.
Of course, if she fucks up my W-2, I will merrily hand her over to the IRS and drink mocha frapuccinos out of her skull while I warm my feet on her sizzling corpse.
phouka, I’m glad you seem to be on top of your depression. As for this crap - do what you gotta do.
Stay healthy, and be happy.
Thanks for the update…
{{{Phouka}}}