The public school district in Camden, NJ has a rule that children must not be required to pay for educational field trips. So when parents came to the school board complaining that their children were being left behind when they couldn't afford the fees for the trips, an investigation was launched. Yesterday, former principal Michael Hailey and his aide, Patricia Johnson, were indicted for having embezzled over $14,000 in fees they'd collected for field trips from students, parents, fundraisers, and the pockets of teachers. Along with another former principal and a teacher, Hailey and Johnson were also indicted for overbilling the school district by over $25,000 for meetings which never actually took place.
According to census data, Camden is the poorest city in the USA with a median income of only $18,000. The parents want their money back.
