The Centralia Education Association (CEA), the union that supports teachers in the Centralia School District, has announced it will donate funds to Oakview Elementary School so its students will be able to attend their annual trip to Cispus Learning Center.
The students of Oakview Elementary School raised money for the trip themselves, but due to embezzlement involving the former president of the Oakview Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization (PTO), all the money went missing.
That meant the students couldn’t attend their traditional trip.
“Basically, the PTO had multiple accounts, including one that has all of the Cispus money for the entire district’s sixth graders,” Angie Brown, co-president of the CEA, said in an interview with The Chronicle. “They had fundraised for that, and Cispus is in April. So, the CEA voted to donate funds to make sure all sixth graders got to go, no matter what happens.”
Former Oakview PTO President Alejandra M. Robbins, 34, of Centralia, was arrested and charged in mid-February for allegedly embezzling nearly $20,000 from the PTO’s three accounts between November 2023 and December 2024. She has pleaded not guilty to one count of first-degree theft and her trial is scheduled to begin May 12.
While Robbins could possibly be ordered to pay the stolen money back to the PTO if she is convicted, it wouldn’t be in time to ensure the kids can go on their upcoming Cispus trip.
Along with the CEA, many other groups donated money as well, guaranteeing the kids got their trip.
“The other elementary school PTOs each donated as well, as did elementary school principals. Together, we were able to entirely replace the Cispus money,” Brown stated proudly.
“The community support is palpable, and shows how deep the devotion and pride of Centralia goes,” Oakview Elementary School Principal Crystal Allen told The Chronicle. “We’ve had community members ask about donating, and have accepted donations from the CEA, our principals’ group and a couple of Centralia community members.”
The tradition of Oakview Elementary’s annual Cispus trip has endured for over 20 years.
“It’s a foundational experience for our sixth grade students (both academically and socially) and is highly regarded as a benchmark of implementing outdoor school,” Allen stated. “Other districts contact us annually to learn the structure of Cispus and our offering to students.”
This year’s fundraiser was especially important to students. It was the first one hosted since the COVID-19 pandemic, with the student-raised funds going toward sweatshirts for the trip.
“We know that not all of our families or counselors can afford the cost of a sweatshirt, and we wanted to remove the obstacle of finances for everyone,” Allen stated.
The account used for Cispus trips was created a while ago, when sixth graders only attended Oakview and Washington. The co-directors of the PTO at the time housed the account within the PTO due to the large amount of fundraising that was needed. The money that was in the account was intended for Cispus supplies, such as walkie-talkie replacements, snacks for counselors, beads for students, supplies for the learning stations and more.
“The loss of the Cispus money is impactful to all of our sixth graders across the district, not just Oakview’s sixth graders. That’s the most heartbreaking part of that loss — it impacts all of the sixth graders across the district, especially in light of the Krispy Kreme fundraiser that we just did,” Allen said.
Allen went on to say that the PTO will recover. They have many more events planned and won’t let this setback define them, she said.
“Our new PTO board is energetic and excited to schedule both new events, and some repeat ones. They are currently hosting our annual Coin Wars, and are planning a ‘Leprechaun Leap,’ a fun run for TopCats on March 17.”
“Awards Northwest is the only company that we trust for all things Oakview and Cispus,” Allen added. “They are so fantastic to work with, and through our orders we get to support a local business.”
“It’s important to the CEA that we show Centralia is united behind our kids,” Brown told The Chronicle. “We want them to be able to have the experience that they worked hard to earn, and that has been a tradition for sixth graders in Centralia for decades.”
The PTO is a volunteer organization with individuals who are elected to their roles within that organization.
Though PTO’s support schools and school districts, the Oakview Elementary School PTO is a separate organization from the Centralia School District.
For more information on the Oakview Elementary School PTO, visit https://www.facebook.com/OakviewElementaryPTO.
