Abbott District woes continue as Camden tries to find missing milk

Assemblywoman Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblyman Scott Rudder today requested an investigation by the State Attorney General’s office into rampant waste and possible fraud and theft in the Camden School District’s Food Service Department.

“We have been demanding accountability from school districts like Camden and other former Abbott Districts that have 98 percent of their budgets funded by the state’s taxpayers,” said Rudder, R-Burlington. “This is why, in the interest of the taxpayers, we must put these districts under the microscope and hold them responsible for every dollar they spend.”

The legislators sent a letter to Attorney General Anne Milgram asking her to launch an investigation after a consultant’s conclusion that food service personnel failed to collect a half-million dollars in meal fees and that $1.5 million in food was wasted during the 2007/08 fiscal year.

“We are stunned by this egregious abuse of taxpayer money,” said Addiego, R-Burlington. “It is difficult to imagine that mismanagement alone could account for a financial loss of this magnitude.”

The consultant’s report by Edvocate included some striking findings: “The department has some of the worst practices ever observed…  “The cost overruns in the food cannot be explained through waste and overproduction… “The district is missing 93,967 units of milk annually, and losing 1,308 preferred meals on a daily basis.”

“We need to find out if this is a case of rampant incompetence or if there is fraud or theft involved,” said Addiego. “If the Attorney General finds evidence of criminality, the courts will handle it. If poor management accounts for it, we need to replace the people who are in charge, all the way up to the superintendent with her $226,000 per year contract.”

“This is an unconscionable violation of the taxpayers’ trust. It calls for immediate action, before one more dollar of public money is lost or stolen. It is time to hold the Camden School District accountable for its actions,” said Rudder.