Families in Camden, N.J., were required to pay for school activities that were paid for with district funds

Struggling parents at H.B. Wilson Elementary School in Camden, N.J., were charged for photos of their children with Santa and the Easter Bunny and were required to pay for a spring carnival even though district money had been set aside for those activities, school personnel say they have told a state grand jury.
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EARLIER: Four former employees in the Camden (N.J.) school district have pleaded not guilty to stealing student field-trip money and submitting phony pay vouchers. In one case, a principal and his assistant are accused of pocketing $14,298 in field-trip money paid by students. Authorities say the trips were actually paid for by the school district, where many students are from low-income families.
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While admitting that it needs better fiscal management, the Camden (N.J.) School District says it did not make payments to dead employees. In a corrective action plan, the district disputes recent findings by state auditors that payments were made to 10 employees after their recorded dates of death. District officials blame shoddy record-keeping and clerical errors for that and numerous deficiencies cited by auditors. (Philadelphia Inquirer)