Can't trust anyone--this is true--Santa and Easter Bunny help scam NJ parents

[Lobster Martini]

This is a wonderful state! Where else could Santa, the Easter Bunny, and a cheerleader be involved in a criminal investigation? New Jersey should change its motto from “the Garden State” to “Satire Heaven.”

School staff: Parents bilked for Santa photos, carnival

Struggling parents at H.B. Wilson Elementary School in Camden 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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In a city where the average income is $10,435 and 81 percent of the public-school children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, parents said putting out extra money was a hardship.

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Parents said they believed they were supporting school fund-raisers when they paid $2 for photographs of their children with Santa and the Easter Bunny. Some said they also had paid $2 for photographs of their children with two Eagles cheerleaders at an event arranged by Hailey's daughter, Tia (Lobster Martini’s clarification--Hailey is Michael Hailey, Wilson's former principal, who has been indicted), an Eagles cheerleader at the time. She declined to comment.

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Standing outside Wilson amid a thicket of mothers and youngsters playing tag, Lucinda Mitchell, 48, whose grandchild attends the school, expressed a concern shared by many parents. "This school has got a lot of dark secrets," she said. "It's going downhill."

Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20070610_Grand_jury_hears_more_Camden_fee_allegations_.html