Senator Dawn Marie Addiego

July 22, 2009   

Contact: Robbie Kenney / (609) 654-1498
Senator Dawn Marie Addiego

Addiego and Rudder Ask Attorney General to Scrutinize Food Service Department After Consultant Found Evidence of $1.5 Million in Waste

Assemblywoman Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblyman Scott Rudder have requested an investigation by the 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, former Abbott Districts that have 98 percent of their budgets funded by the state’s taxpayers,” said Assemblyman Rudder. “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 in the 2007-08 fiscal year.

“We are stunned by this egregious abuse of taxpayer money,” said Assemblywoman Addiego. “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 a case of rampant incompetence, or if there is fraud or theft involved,” said Assemblywoman 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 Assemblyman Rudder.

The letter to Attorney General Milgram follows:

July 22, 2009

The Hon. Anne Milgram
Attorney General
PO Box 080
Trenton, NJ 08625-0080

Dear Attorney General Milgram:

We were stunned and disheartened to learn of the abuse of taxpayer money by the Camden school district’s Food Services Department as reported in today’s Courier-Post.

The newspaper quotes extensively from a report from “Edvocate, a New Jersey-based consulting firm, in its review of the 2007-08 fiscal year.”

The Courier-Post report (enclosed) states; “The department has some of the worst practices ever observed,” and “The cost overruns in the food cannot be explained through waste and overproduction.”

Edvocate indicates the school district wasted more than $1.5 million in food and failed to collect $500,000 in meal fees. The consultants also concluded the district is missing 93,967 units of milk annually, and “losing 1,308 preferred meals on a daily basis.”

Due to the egregious nature of this abuse, and its enormous economic impact on the taxpayers of New Jersey, we respectfully request an investigation by your office.

Whether this is a case of systemic incompetence and negligence, of runaway fraud and greed, or the blatant theft of taxpayer money, the situation must be resolved immediately.

If you would like to discuss this matter further, please feel free to call us at our 8th District office in Medford, at (609) 654-1498.  Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Dawn Marie Addiego
Assemblywoman

Scott Rudder
Assemblyman

Addiego and Rudder Ask Attorney General to Scrutinize Food Service Department After Consultant Found Evidence of $1.5 Million in Waste Assemblywoman Dawn Marie Addiego and Assemblyman Scott Rudder have requested an investigation by the Attorney General’s office into rampant waste, and possible fraud and theft, [...]