Holyoke fires Council on Aging employee after finding $17,500 missing
By Mike Plaisance, The Republican The Republican
HOLYOKE – An employee of the Council on Aging has been fired and about $17,500 that was determined to be missing has been recovered, officials said Monday.
Police Chief Anthony R. Scott and City Treasurer Jon D. Lumbra said Friday their departments both investigated the case in March.
City Solicitor Lisa A. Ball said Monday no arrests have been made and the investigation has ended. Scott declined to say why no arrests were made and referred questions to Ball.
She declined to identify the employee but said funds were recovered by claiming money from the employee’s retirement account.
“There was a matter that was brought to my attention. The employee was disciplined and the city was made whole,” Ball said.
The case involved meals provided to senior citizens at the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St., through the School Department lunch program, she said. Such meals are provided for a fee at various off-school sites.
The case raises questions about oversight. Kathleen A. Bowler, executive director of the Council on Aging, School Superintendent David L. Dupont hadn’t returned calls seeking comment as of late Monday afternoon.
School Committee member Devin M. Sheehan said he will raise the issue at Monday’s School Committee meeting and request an extensive audit of the lunch program.
“This is concerning School Department funds. It’s the School Department’s money. I don’t know why this is being treated so hush-hush,” Sheehan said.
Of the current enrollment of about 5,900 students, more than 70 percent qualify for free meals in the schools because of the city’s high poverty rate.
The number of students who eat breakfast in the schools varies per building, from a low of 10 percent at Holyoke High School to a high of 66 percent at E.N. White School, according to figures from the start of the school year.
Lunch participation is higher district wide, with a low of 37 percent at Metcalf School to a high of 94 percent at Morgan School.
The city recently changed lunch vendors fromChartwells School Dining Services, of Braintree, to Sodexo Group, of Gaithersburg, Md., Sheehan said.
Under the school lunch vendor contract, the city is supposed to get a yearly profit of $150,000 in revenue from the sales of meals, officials have said.
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