Horizon School Division. (File Photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Jaryn Vecchio

Stolen Funds

‘Not a pattern’: Horizon School Division discusses recent thefts by employees

Oct 17, 2023 | 12:00 PM

The Horizon School Division, based in Humboldt, doesn’t believe they’re dealing with a pattern of crime after two significant thefts over the past two school years.

Last week, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Education announced that a former employee had stolen roughly $3,800 in fuel. This comes a few months after a worker took roughly $4,600 which was supposed to be deposited to the division’s bank accounts.

“We can talk about it happening two years in a row, but it’s completely separate situations.,” said Kevin Garinger, the Director of Education for the Horizon School Division.

He added the first situation involved an employee working at a school, while the second involved someone in the division’s transportation department.

As to why these individuals decided to steal, Garinger noted he doesn’t have an answer but does have a hunch.

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“People are obviously feeling desperate, I’m not sure why else you would be involved in theft of that nature,” he said.

Whatever the case, Garinger added there’s no excuse for doing it.

Meanwhile, the division is looking at ways to stop this from ever happening again.

One idea that’s being discussed is holding in-take meetings after someone has been hired. This would be a chance for them to share with leadership what their vision is and their commitment to the division and the students.

“That’s something I’ve seen fostered in other organizations and it seems to have worked very, very well,” said Garinger.

If another situation happens, Garinger is confident they’ll be able to spot it and then stop it from continuing. This is because of the division’s protocols for monitoring all of the funds it receives.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow