BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The former business administrator for Notre Dame Academy now faces up to seven years in prison for stealing more than $49,000 from the school. Parents learned about a misuse of money on Halloween, and a lot of them were not happy with the news.
Wednesday night they had the chance to ask school administrators some tough questions about a number of concerns.
It began as a conversation about the missing money and turned into a conversation about school security.
Dennis Potozniak pleaded guilty to grand larceny. He served as the school's business administrator from 2011 to 2017 and admitted to stealing more than $49,000 from the school by writing checks to himself and "winning" three raffles worth more than $13,000.
Father Bryan Zielenieski told parents tonight the school is in good financial shape and this won't impact tuition rates. He also says they'll be doing a full outside audit.
Parents also brought up concerns about security after two incidents over the past week. One where a man left two backpacks near the school, but not on school property, while he went into a nearby business prompting a 911 call.
Police came, and there was no security threat to the school.
There was a second incident where a former student, who is now an adult, was posting angry comments on an alumni page about a priest from forty years ago. Police went to that man's house and took him in for a psychological evaluation.
Administrators say kids were never in danger.
Mark Marcucci has two sons at Notre Dame Academy and was concerned about those incidents and the missing money.
"The stuff that's going on with the Catholic Church, it's just more pain, more sores. You know? It's just, it's just sad all the way around. It's just a bad feeling. Yes, one more thing we've got to deal with as Catholics," said Marcucci.
Marcucci says he wants more parents to get involved to add more oversight.
Potozniak has to pay the school back and could get seven years in prison when he's sentenced early next year.