Hershey School Spending Subject of Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Inquiry

The Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General has opened an investigation into the Hershey School, the country’s largest residential school for needy children, because of a series of land deals connected to the institution, the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.

Among other business deals, trustees of the school allegedly spent $17-million on a golf course and clubhouse and bought the 18-acre Pumpkin World USA, a roadside market, for $7.5-million. The school then leased Pumpkin World back to the owners.

The investigation may focus on why the school is spending such large amounts of money on things like golf courses when its deed of trust stipulates that its money be used solely for the care and education of the school’s students. The deed was signed more than 100 years ago by the school’s founder, Milton S. Hershey, who started the chocolate company that bears his name.

Leroy S. Zimmerman, head of the Hershey Trust and a former state attorney general, said the institution was cooperating with the investigation. “We believe the facts will continue to support the conclusion that we have acted appropriately,” he said.