Some are calling it a case of extravagant spending.
A middle school in Brooklyn reportedly racked up nearly $20,000 in food orders from a Caribbean restaurant over a single week. The menu included an assortment of dishes featuring pork, chicken, oxtails, and other soul food staples.
Brownsville’s Collaborative Middle School placed catering orders amounting to $600 for bacon and sausage trays, another $600 for scrambled eggs, and $480 just for oxtails from Fusion East.
According to the financial records, coffee and tea were billed at $200 each, while orange juice came to $300.
During the span from August 28 to September 6, 2024, the school made 13 catering requests for various classroom events.
Caribbean restaurants offered a special deal, priced at $5, which covered seven lunches and six breakfasts, contributing to a total expenditure of $745,000 during that timeframe.
The records indicate that the principal, previously arrested in May for driving under the influence, spent $2,930 on breakfast orders meant for approximately 100 individuals. The breakfast spread included bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, waffles, and home fries.
Again, coffee and tea cost $200, and orange juice was $300.
About 100 people were treated to lunch through two separate orders costing $2,410, each at $640, which included rice and peas, mac and cheese, collard greens, chicken, and whiting.
In one of the simpler orders, oxtails and jerk chicken were picked up for about $830 for 50 servings, as stated in another invoice.
Interestingly, it remains unclear what particular events the catering was for, as the orders were labeled simply for “school events.” The first official day for students didn’t start until September 5, 2024.
The Department of Education has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the reasons behind the nearly $20,000 food order or who benefitted from it.
The department previously acknowledged that the middle school breached spending regulations and mentioned that the school’s leadership received procurement training following this excessive spending.
Andrew Walcott, owner of Fusion East and involved in a program linking minority- and women-owned businesses to government contracts, noted that it took nearly eight months for the school to settle its bills.
Walcott had to send multiple emails to various officials and threatened to escalate the matter to the inspector for the Department of Education before payments were finally processed.
“But yeah, it was eight months before they paid,” he remarked.
Principal Jackson, entangled in legal issues beyond the large expenditures, faced arrest for DWI on May 5 after reportedly crashing into parked cars. He pleaded not guilty and had a court appearance on August 21.
His attorney, Paul Prestia, chose not to provide any comments on the situation.
