Questions linger on museum's future

<p>For 20 years, the Petaluma Wildlife Museum has been a source of pride for the community, educating students and adults alike about the animal inhabitants of our planet and their ecosystems.</p><p>Founded in 1990 by Ron Head, a now-retired Petaluma High School wildlife and forestry instructor, the museum took shape when the late developer Hugh Codding donated his entire collection of taxidermied and live animals. An old bus garage on the PHS campus was converted — with the help of thousands of hours of work by volunteers — into the world's largest student-operated museum.</p><p>But now the museum is facing a crisis — one that threatens its continued existence.</p><p>The director of the museum for the past 10 years, Marsi Wier, was relieved of her duties recently after the nonprofit organization's board discovered last October that she had been using the museum's checking account and credit card to pay for personal goods and services, including child care, restaurants, nail salons, massages and even a $659 air conditioner. It's not clear how much money is missing, but it's at least in the thousands and could be far more.</p><p>Weir's actions constitute a betrayal of the worst kind, and are an insult to museum volunteers, past and present students, donors and all community members who have supported this unique educational institution over the years. We agree with the many outraged parents and students in the community that it is unconscionable for a teacher to take money intended to help children learn. </p><p>But the situation raises a number of questions well beyond Wier's apparent criminal conduct, among them:</p><p>n Why was there such lax oversight of Wier's spending by the nonprofit's board of directors? Why were expense audits not properly performed or reviewed as required for all nonprofit organizations? </p><p>n When the board became aware of the financial irregularities last October, why did it wait more than nine months before relieving Wier of her duties? The board removed Wier's oversight of the museum's finances, but inexplicably allowed her to remain on as director where she continued teaching children in a classroom at the museum. </p><p>n Why weren't the police immediately notified when board members became aware of the embezzlement? Why didn't school officials notify the police when they were made aware that one of their employees was allegedly stealing from a campus facility? In a similar situation six years ago, the president and executive director of the Polly Hannah Klaas Performing Arts Theater Company was suitably arrested, and later convicted and sentenced, for embezzling $25,000 from that organization. </p><p>n In light of these very serious allegations, why were Wier's actions not investigated by the school district that instead allowed her to continue teaching on the same campus where the alleged thievery occurred?</p><p>Complicating the situation is that the museum is located on the Petaluma High School campus, but receives no direct funding from Petaluma City Schools other than utilities and maintenance costs. The museum is a 501(c)3 nonprofit funded through contributions and grants, and Wier is a teacher at the school, but the district somehow considered her position as museum director separate from her teaching duties, so effectively decided to ignore the situation. </p><p>The school district's inaction is troubling, and parents have good reason to question why school officials did not insist that the matter be reported to police so a thorough investigation could have been conducted. It seems inappropriate for a school to retain a teacher who has all but admitted to improperly using museum funds for personal use. What kind of role model is this person for students at the school?</p><p>One of the original volunteers who built the museum is concerned that the organization can't survive much longer if it continues on its current path. That would be a shame, and it's all the more reason for the museum board to immediately request a police investigation into Wier's alleged misuse of funds and conduct a thorough audit. </p><p>Neal Ramus, the interim museum director, has put out a call for parents, students and other adults interested in volunteering. “I would like to energize more adults in the community who want to play a part in helping the museum,” he said.</p><p>That's all well and good, and is probably a vital step to restoring the museum to its previous position. </p><p>But before prospective supporters step forward, Ramus and the museum board will need to demonstrate that their organization will consistently operate with all the proper checks and balances to ensure that what happened on Wier's watch is never repeated.</p>