State Will Audit Compton Schools on Meal Payments

State officials announced they will audit the Compton Unified School District’s program for feeding low-income children in an effort to determine if the district used inflated figures in applying for state and federal reimbursements for meals.

State and federal inspectors who visited the district in December said the number of low-income meals reported at five schools may have been inflated as much as 52%.

Their report said several children apparently were counted more than once, and the district failed to provide proper documentation, such as welfare check stubs, showing that several children were from low-income families.

As a result, the state Department of Education’s audit division has been asked by the department’s Child Nutrition and Food Distribution Division to examine the district’s records starting next week.

Compton officials insisted, however, that they did not submit inflated numbers. They said the inspectors misread computer information used by the district to keep track of children eligible to receive breakfasts and lunches free or at reduced prices.

“There are some discrepancies in their findings,” acting Supt. Elisa L. Sanchez said.

Sanchez said the district has made remarkable progress in revamping a food service program that was cited in the past for failing to provide wholesome meals and keep its records in order.

Indeed, the report indicates that school meals in Compton meet federal and state nutrition requirements.

George Nash, who runs the district’s food service program, scoffed at the report of inflated meals. “If we were doing 52% inflated, we wouldn’t have any idea where we were,” he said.

Nash cited the district’s November reimbursement check as evidence that the district is not claiming it served meals to 30,000 low-income children. The district was reimbursed $643,695 for serving 344,928 lunches and 115,278 breakfasts during the month, he said. That represents lunches for 18,154 children a day and breakfasts for 6,067, he said.

The inspectors, he said, wanted to see paper documentation, but the district has spent the last two years transferring its information to computers. The district’s computer files show that all the children counted for meal reimbursements are from low-income families, he said.

The dispute over meal counts may stem from the requirement that districts choose 3% of the low-income families at random and demand further verification. The additional documentation, such as welfare check stubs, must be kept on file in the district, Nash said.

The district had not completed the 3% sampling when the inspectors arrived, and the inspectors would not accept the computerized information as a substitute, Nash said. Since then, he added, the district has completed the required sample.

The dispute could cost the district thousands of dollars if it cannot persuade the auditors, who are expected to spend four or five days in Compton, that the computer files correctly reflect the number of children entitled to receive meals free or at reduced prices. Last year, according to state records, the district received $5.8 million in state and federal reimbursements for meals served to low-income children.