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Former Cafeteria Manager Charged With Stealing Student Lunch Money
December 7, 2015
A former elementary school cafeteria manager has been charged with stealing lunch money from student accounts at Molino Park and Jim Allen elementary schools.
Jennifer Leigh McKendrick, 42, was arrested for felony official misconduct and grand theft. She was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $5,000 bond.
Officials said she was improperly refunding money from student lunch accounts and pocketed the cash.
McKendrick was first hired by the Escambia County School District in late 1997. In August 2013, she was promoted to food service manager at Molino Park Elementary School and was given the additional duty of supervising food service operations at Jim Allen Elementary in August 2014. Part of her duties included issuing refunds from student meal accounts.
In May 2015, a Molino Park parent found that his children’s online lunch accounts has an incorrect zero balance. When he called the cafeteria to question the balance, he was told the money was refunded in March 2015. The victim told investigators that he never requested and never received a refund. He was contacted three different times by McKendrick who offered to meet him off campus and refund the money, according to authorities.
McKendrick admitted that she removed money from the food service cashier kiosk at both Molino Park and Jim Allen elementary schools without completing the appropriate paperwork, according to an arrest warrant. She contacted a school district investigator and volunteered to reimburse the school district for any funds determined to be missing.
She resigned from her position on June 2, 2015.
A total of $2,787.75 of was wrongly removed from the school district’s food service funds, according to an internal audit.
Comments
42 Responses to “Former Cafeteria Manager Charged With Stealing Student Lunch Money”
It’s hard to believe so many people are trying to justify what she did —
she didn’t steal just one time — it was all different thefts, ONE CHILD AT A TIME !!!
You don’t just make a mistake & steal that much money by pushing one button on a computer — it was a decision she made more than once to get $2,787.75
I know she is a good person — but wake up people —
SHE DID THIS ON PURPOSE — IT WAS NOT A MISTAKE….
Stealing from kids…How low can you go.
You are the best! You make me complete
REGARDING:
“According to authorities. Really ? So your one of the many sheeple who believe what your told by the news, by law enforcement, by politicians ? WEAR is owned by a company that owns numerous other news staitions. Media is just a sounding board for government. Do you really believe the above named “authorities” actually care about you and work in your best intrest?”
It is unhealthy to assume that everybody is involved in some massive conspiracy to manipulate and fool us into believing charges of some crime might be legitimate.
You should check yourself into a government supported mental health care facility.
(Heh, heh, heh.)
David for conspiracy theorists’ cures
(Or brainwashing?)
You are so rude why would you do such a great thing all she cares about is money. Some children coldent eat lunch bucause of this bratty selfish lady that doesn’t deserve anything
Stay strong! I love you
OF COURSE she was happy! She was pocketing extra $$$$$.
I am sure we haven’t heard the last on this. It will probably just hit people who thought they had plenty of money in accounts at the school lunch rooms and wondered how their money was gone they were sure they had. Now they will all have to have their accounts checked.
@reader
Not to say what this woman did wasn’t wrong. Not to say that the story isn’t true. However, do you hear yourself ?
…According to authorities. Really ? So your one of the many sheeple who believe what your told by the news, by law enforcement, by politicians ? WEAR is owned by a company that owns numerous other news staitions. Media is just a sounding board for government. Do you really believe the above named “authorities” actually care about you and work in your best intrest? Or is it more likely they have their own agenda ? Please wake up and look around at the world you live in. I’ll pray for you as i do every day. Go to youtube (Media Brainwashing : News just repeats the same phrases and taglines over and over)
Perhaps she thought it was money people would not miss if she gave the children lunch..like it was used already and she would not get caught. She must have gotten away with it a little at the time and just kept going. I had a friend who worked at a bank who had a coworker who did something similar with a small supplies account and just kept going and eventually got caught and fired for embezzlement. You gonna be dumb..you gotta be tough.
> my point is that half of this article isn’t true.
What isn’t true? They don’t just make this stuff up….it says according to authorities, the arrest warrant, etc. The report on the WEAR 3 news says the same thing as this report? (But NorthEscambia.com was first, as usual, before the TV)
@Chris in Molino,
Thank you very much. There are three sides to every story: their side, her side and the truth. She DID do wrong, but my point is that half of this article isn’t true. The truth will come out eventually but for now, leaving negative comments and bashing her is doing nothing. She knows what she did is wrong. She’s my mom, not some “low life thug” or a “bully”.
Is this why I couldn’t get milk at lunch.
@b- dont worry about Dan. You know your mom and maybe she did do wrong but her sin is no worse than the hidden sins of many of your moms bashers. I have a right to my opinion and how i would handle it so just know id never let that happen in front of me. It wouldnt even b said in front of me. Been through this before with tough guys n holier than thou types who believe their way is the only way. Posted my name, address, vehicle make/model, places i frequent, and nothing. Do whats in your heart without the influence of others.
My kid has a few dollars in her piggy bank if if you want to steal that
@old man
There is a huge difference between mistakenly taking a pen or pencil home with you and making a conscience decision to steal money from children. This was not an after thought. She took steps to refund the money to cover up her thieving.
P.S It doesn’t matter how nice of a person you are..if you steal from children and/or the elderly, all the niceness goes out the window.
Megan, are you really standing up for a criminal offense as a crime of compassion?
To: old manw.. yep you don’t have a dog in this this fight. It isn’t a fight, it is the LAW. Plain and simple. She commented a felony crime and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. AND, take away her retirement, PERIOD!
Please do not judge by the cover. She is a very nice lady that made a bad decision. I will issue forgiveness in due time, as should everyone else. Also, do not judge the school system each and everyday the school district makes a positive difference in the lives of young people.
Well now I know why I never understood my child’s lunch account balance. I’ve been paying in cash and sending $20 at a time. I recently logged in looking back to January 2015, never once did I see a $20 deposit. I had considered calling but my son was still receiving lunch so didn’t say anything.
Jennie girl I don’t know the whole story but nor do I care ,I know you’re a good person with a big heart ,a friend ,and a excellent manager you taught me more in one school year than anyone else cared to in eight years ,,people out there have done a lot worse things in their life and i’m sure if they’re skeletons fell out of the closet we would all be shocked ,,,keep your chin up because next month they will be on to talking about and bashing someone else’s life ,you know you can call me anytime you know where i,ll be and you know you’re always welcome anytime, I am not going to let one bad judgement that might have been made reflect how I feel about you as a whole person.Remember Strong people do not fall easily they stand and fight !
Everybody who is calling this a mistake does not truly understand mans depravity also you all would be the first ones screaming if it was your money ….and all sin is sin but the consequences are deeper according to the sin…… So yeah sin is sin but consequences are greater according to the sin. Most of you could not even find the book of Genesis but your experts …..then these people declare they are saved because some preacher told them they are unreal
Liz has the humor to go along with this crime. Everyone has had their say in this matter. Food Service workers in the district are not at the top of wages/salary schedules, yet she saw an opportunity to take advantage of the system…and got caught.
Be mindful the food services program for this district is not subsidized. This person violated trust in her position, but let’s not stone or hang her just yet. She may have the opportunity to make restitution as well as the penalty of losing her meager retirement benefit.
Let the courts sort out what is appropriate. Her shame is in that she was caught and not doing what she did.
BTW, the Food Services Dep’t. of the district is probably THE most audited program with the athletic departments being the least…throughout the county.
She stole from children. The women on here a few weeks ago stole from a elderly man in my opinion they are the worst type of people and deserve a more severe penalty. those of you wanting to justify what she has done are part of the problem. If she needed more money she or someone in her family could have got a job and earned it like people who aren’t thieves do.
What a shame, traded a lifelong job for less than 3 grand. Jobs don’t grow on trees, esp something decent like she had.
well i dont have a dog in this fight so i will speak my peace 1st stealing is taking something that doent belong to you 2nd all the people comiting on here i bet not one of has never taken something that didnt belong to you ( a pen or a pencil ) stealing is stealing yes she should be punished but if what they say about the way she cared for the children that should count for something THINK ABOUT THIS HE WHO LIVES IN A GLASS HOUSE SHOULD NOT THROW ROCKS
She did what she did! Pay the consequences and be done with it! Don’t say “oh, poor lady, she must have had problems”! There is NO problem that makes one steal. If she was competent enough to run the cafeteria then she certainly knew what she was doing! Get the punishment over with and move on!
I agree with Mark, she put the embarrassment on her family, CONSEQUENCES! To Megan, the school district decides what is on the menu, fresh fruit has been available to children for several years. She didn’t implement that, the district did. As far as a teachers food bar, that has also been available for several years also, she didn’t implement that either. Salad bar, baked entrees and vegetables have been available. She proved that she knew what she was doing, being a thief. She took advantage of the school system, oh and by the way did you all know that she was living on the school property? No sympathy from here.
Wow, 18 years of service and likely a nice retirement from the school system.
I suppose she is still 100% eligible for that why she reaches retirement age.
And P.S.
The first deterrent to crime against civilized society is the possibility of public embarrassment.
So yes, fellow citizens calling out their displeasure of what a criminal has done is appropriate to perhaps discourage others from being a criminal.
But some just don’t care if they are a public embarrassment and thus the severity of punishment for crimes goes up from there.
Why is there not an audit system in place to cover funds in this area
@ b
dont tell me to watch what I say I have the right to my opinion and to say how I would handle it. Your mom is a thief if that hurts your feelings good it means you know stealing is wrong and maybe you won’t do it your mom took money from hard working people trying to feed their families that’s pathetic
I just cannot understand why this lady would do this, she has a job. Greed, I guess.
Incredibly sad and disappointing, for alll who trusted her. Prayers for all concerned….
Incredibly sad……and disappointing.
Bottom line, this woman made a CHOICE to do what she did and tried to cover it up. By meeting someone off campus to “take care of it”, proves she knew what she was doing was wrong, and was trying to cover her six.. Had she not been caught, she would probably still be doing it with no remorse.
I don’t care if “no child was denied a meal”, saying something like that seems like you are trying to justify what she did. What she did was WRONG and she knew it! I’m sorry her family has to go through this because it is now public, but she put this on her family as well.
Her problem? She did not think about the consequences of what would happen when she got caught. The public humiliation and the shame it brings to her family.
I have ZERO sympathy for this woman. She knew what she was doing.
When someone does something wrong do not forget about all the things they did right. No one is perfect, we all sin just in different ways but according to God all sin is the same. No matter if you decide to kill someone or take a child’s candy or tell a small white lie ALL SIN IS THE SAME!! Just please remember to think before you speak, everyone has a family that loves them.
Im not saying what she did was right. But bashing her on a public page isnt either. Who are we to pass judgement. Second of all and again not saying she was right. But noone knows the situation of this woman. She may have been halping her sick child or doing everything she could to.feed her family. So.nefore you pass judgement on someone take a step back and think things through.
Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
This lady might be “Nice”, “Wonderful”, and she may also be a great cafeteria manager, but she is a thief plain and simple. All that “niceness” may have been her way of salving her conscience because she knew she was committing sin.
Yes, love her, hate the crime. I agree. But, I also think we need to call this what it is – stealing. Stealing is illegal, so there are bound to be consequences she and her innocent family will not like.
Think things through to the end, if you decide to break the law. You won’t win if you get caught, and you put your family through a lot that isn’t necessary at all.
I told myself that I would not comment on this article. As some of this might be true, not everything on this story is accurate. Like Sara Owen said no child was denied a meal! Thank you for your kind words Megan! Although she made a mistake, she loved her job and was AMAZING at it. She worked hard to make sure the teachers had a teacher bar that had delicious food as well as making sure the children were eating good! NO ONE IS PERFECT. Don’t judge her because she sinned differently than you! She does have family members that this DOES effect, and I’m one of them. I’m her daughter and will stand by her through all of this. Yes, she did wrong but she’s still my mom. So to Dan, you are right she is special. She was special to each child was blessed with the opportunity to meet her and talk to her! For you to say that you would beat her severally is completely uncalled for. You all need to watch what you say, think before you speak. Please post encouraging things rather than negative. Although she did wrong she’s still hurt over the situation.
This article is true of her! It was my children that she took from and I thought she was nice. Guess she had two sides and after she offered to pay the money out of her own pocket I went to the authorities cause at that point I’m sure there were more students involved. A lesson learned for all keep up with your kids accounts like I did so this dosent happen to you. Hope she has learned her lesson!
We need to all be careful how we “judge” “criticize” “speak our opinion” on this subject. It was a very bad thing she did and deserves the punishment, but she has innocent family members that this has hurt to the very core. It’s kinda like hate the crime but not the person. Stealing is horrible and not acceptable, but no child was denied a meal. This is a very bad mark against food service and we need to move forward and try to not lump all into this. Should we forgive oh yea, God allowed His son to died for me and forgiveness of my sin, oh yea, we need to move forward and not let this harden our hearts.
There must be some mistake. Jenny was wonderful in the cafeteria. She provided fresh, healthy foods. She not only did her job, but she did it with love in her heart. She would add a new menu item, then come into the cafeteria to talk to the children (by name) to see how they felt about the new food. She was concerned about providing healthy food to students and teachers. While she was there, we went from canned fruit cocktail in yucky sauce to fresh cut up fruit everyday. The kids and teachers noticed the difference in quality of food and quality of her character. She brought a smile to everyone that met her, and she strived to do her best.