It's been said that if you do the crime, you do the time. In the case of numerous instances of theft from school-related groups, however, that hasn't been the case. The people convicted of those thefts typically don't do any time; instead, probation and restitution have been the preferred tools - along with some additional oversight being provided by the Conroe Independent School District.

The question is whether those provisions are sufficient - for that, we believe only time will tell.

Since 2003, roughly $170,000 has been stolen from students by people in charge of parent organizations. The thefts include:

* $20,000-$100,000: stolen from Creighton Elementary PTO (2003-06);

* $16,000: stolen from Austin Elementary PTO (2007);

* $3,886.60: stolen from Moorhead Junior High cheerleader fund (2004-05); and

* $52,448.58: stolen from Ford Elementary PTO (2003-04).

The most egregious case involved Kristy Lynn Hobbs, 34, of Cleveland, a former Creighton Elementary School employee and Parent Teacher Organization treasurer.

She pleaded guilty Nov. 8 in the 9th state District Court of Judge Fred Edwards to aggregate theft, a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. She received four years probation, 120 hours community service and must pay Creighton restitution of $17,500, according to court documents. Hobbs stole between $20,000 and $100,000 "with intent to deprive the owner of the property ... beginning around Aug. 8, 2003 to around June 10, 2006," according to the indictment.

In the three other cases mentioned above, the people responsible for the thefts paid restitution. In the situations involving Austin Elementary PTO and the Moorhead Junior High cheerleader fund, no charges were filed. In the Ford Elementary case, former Ford Elementary PTO president and acting Treasurer Lisa Esparza received 10 years' deferred adjudication from 359th state District Court Judge Kathleen Hamilton in August 2005 after she was convicted of stealing $52,448 from the organization for her gambling habit. She had to pay $40,000 back to the Ford PTO and write a letter of apology to its members and the school.

To address the issue of theft from student or parent organizations, the CISD put some new policies in place a couple of years ago. First, organizations are invited to participate in the CISD Education Support Group Inc. Other steps include required submission of financial reports, providing annual reports for an internal audit, monthly reviews of bank statements and required fraud training for principals and department heads.

By opting for restitution instead of punishment, the organizations are at least getting most or all of the stolen funds back. The question is whether this approach is doing enough to send the right kind of message that deters future crimes.

We hope that the new CISD procedures and the requirement of restitution are enough to put an end to these kinds of thefts. At some point, however, if these crimes continue, it may be time to mete out a stiffer punishment to those responsible, including jail sentences. Ultimately, it may take doing some time to stop these crimes.