Kids’ lunch money being misspent
October 20, 2011
A Southern California school district is under fire from state regulators for allegedly misspending $1.5 million in government funds intended for impoverished students’ free and reduced price lunches.
Baldwin Park School District will be required to repay the funds, according to the state’s Department of Education, officials of which said the money was used to clean cafeterias and pay banking fees and interest. [SanGabrielValleyTribune]
District officials, who said they plan to fight the charges, face an Oct. 26 deadline for repayment or risk permanently losing federal food fund benefits. The same district was held liable in 2006 for misuse of lunch funds, and was forced to repay $1.6 million.
Federal and state authorities place restrictions on how lunch money is spent to help ensure it is not used for general expenses while cutting back on quality food for students.
The comments below represent the opinion of the writer and do not represent the views or policies of CalCoastNews.com. Please address the Policies, events and arguments, not the person. Constructive debate is good; mockery, taunting, and name calling is not. Comment Guidelines