Lunches seized from Utah schoolkids because of unpaid bills

[Miss Tequila]

Jan 30, 2014 20:21:11 GMT -5 The Captain said:

Jan 30, 2014 18:08:15 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

The Captain - Solution? The kid's credit goes into the red.  The kid still gets a hot meal and the parents get a one week notice that it all ends on such-and-such date.  Parents owe for the future month plus any past due meal costs. Failure to pay gets the kid no food, including oranges and drinks.  Starving kids can really whine and make parents' lives miserable.

A notice should come from the school principal (if it doesn't already).  Easy to create generic letters and send home with the kids with a return of generic letter expected with parent's signature acknowledging receipt and understanding of letter content.

And it was a waste of food for the school to throw it out.    They didn't even bother throwing the food to a homeless dog.

The credit was already in the red as I understood it and the kids were told when their account was low and notices were sent home according to more than one report I read.  

Olsen said school officials told the district that their staffers typically tell students about any balances as they go through the lunch line and send home notifications to parents each week.

www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57468293-78/lunches-olsen-lunch-district.html.csp

Yet despite this parents claim to be "surprised" by the news.  Do you really think schools should have to call parents after they tell the kids and send home notices.  Let's add yet another non value added staff position to do this valuable task because a few parents can't get it together.  AND really how hard is it to do basic math, ummm let's see - it's two dollars a lunch and I loaded 40 dollars on the account 5-6 weeks ago - think MAYBE the account is getting low?  They also could go online and check or set up autopay.

Each of these districts, including Salt Lake City, has computerized programs that enable parents to set up recurring payments and get timely notifications. Salt Lake City encourages parents to use that system, which can be accessed from its website.
Read more at www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=28541664#3BTf6lthrYkArUJi.99

But we'll blame everyone BUT the parents whose responsibility should be to make sure their kids are fed.  After all everyone else should be more responsible then the people who created the child, right?

BTW if I recall the food was cafeteria pizza - they did the homeless dog a favor by not feeding it the food.

They had already given the kids the food. What was the point if throwing out good food? At least before they tossed it they could bill the parents. Since they took their trays and tossed it they will not get paid for it.

How does that make any sense to you?

And I can explain how my kids went in the hole. In our school the kids can buy ala cart. It adds up quickly. Regardless, my kid should never go hungry because I forget to send in a check.

[Tennesseer]

Feb 1, 2014 21:15:44 GMT -5 @patstab said:

In the clasroom we brought money on Mondays and bought our lunch tickets for the week.  We could go a day or 2 if we forgot but then most of us brought our lunch if we didn't have the money and we also paid the arrears. What happened to something like that.

Back ìn the 60s, we had tokens.  No tokens, no food.  Treats you paid for ìn cash.  

[zibazinski]

That went the way of the dodo bird. When parents stopped feeding their own children, the gubmt got involved and fed them for them. Then the schools had to as well. Now it's a cluster just like everything the gubmt sticks their noses into. These parents are well aware their kids have no money and are also aware that some do-gooder will take care of it for them. It, like their children, just isn't  a priority for them. If the parents qualified, the kids would get free or reduced lunch but that would take effort on the part of these parents, to fill out some form. Our school used to be out hundreds of dollars from deadbeat parents. Those deadbeats realize that some idiot will get up in arms about their children not being fed as opposed to chastizing the parents for being shitty parents. They count on it.

[zibazinski]

What's sad is that when children went hungry, it taught them a very good lesson. Don't breed em if you can't feed em. Now it's taxpayers jobs to feed children when their parents don't bother. No one I know who went hungry as a child reproduced like some rabbit and expected others to feed them.

[Deleted]

Jan 30, 2014 12:38:12 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

so if the lunch couldn't be re-served and had to be tossed, how is it cost effective to trash the hot lunch and give out additional but different foods, while embarrassing an elementary school kid about something they very likely cannot control?

not cool.

I would look at it as a message being sent to slacker parents. Who knows how long, the oops I forgot to pay, but feed my kid anyway has been going on. This is just another media misrepresentation (IMNSHO) of the continuing story of the entitlement generation (they have kids now). This is a good lesson for those kids on the subject of personal responsibility, applied to their parents. I hope they grow up never forgetting it.

[resolution]

cltv.com/2014/02/06/man-pays-off-students-negative-lunch-account-balances/#axzz2sZjF2gK6

A man, upset after hearing about a Utah school that trashed lunches for students with delinquent lunch account balances, paid off 60 negative lunch account balances at a Houston elementary school this week.

Kenny Thompson, a longtime school tutor, said he felt the need to act after hearing about the incident in Utah, he told KPRC.

“I’m like, ‘Wow. I know that’s probably a situation at my school, and the school my son goes to, and the other schools I mentor at.’ So I came in and inquired about it,” Thompson said.

Thompson learned that many kids at Houston’s Valley Oaks Elementary School were already on a reduced lunch. Many have parents that can’t afford daily meals that cost 40 cents. That’s when Thompson took $465 of his own money and paid off the lunch accounts for 60 children.

“These are elementary school kids,” he said. “They don’t need to be worried about finances. They need to be worried about what grade they got in spelling.”


Read more: wgntv.com/2014/02/06/man-pays-off-students-negative-lunch-account-balances/#ixzz2shWekS88

[zibazinski]

Yup. Well, that's real nice of him to do that. I hope those parents appreciate it. I KNOW the school will.

[jkapp]

Jan 30, 2014 18:26:32 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

I'm as conservative as they come but I do not and will not ever agree to let a child to hungry because their parent doesn't send in lunch money. In our school, if the account is overdrawn the kids get PB&J (we are racist fuckers!). My kids have overdrawn their account because they forget to give me the note.

They went way overboard by throwing away good food as punishment. Seriously, what the fuck?

Well, it got the parents' attention, didn't it?  The notes weren't very effective, but maybe now the parents will wake the fuck up

Sometimes extremes are the only way to get through to some people.  Unfortunately, the schools' only tool to get to the parents are their kids.

[jkapp]

Jan 30, 2014 20:47:32 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Jan 30, 2014 20:21:11 GMT -5 The Captain said:

The credit was already in the red as I understood it and the kids were told when their account was low and notices were sent home according to more than one report I read.  

Olsen said school officials told the district that their staffers typically tell students about any balances as they go through the lunch line and send home notifications to parents each week.

www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57468293-78/lunches-olsen-lunch-district.html.csp

Yet despite this parents claim to be "surprised" by the news.  Do you really think schools should have to call parents after they tell the kids and send home notices.  Let's add yet another non value added staff position to do this valuable task because a few parents can't get it together.  AND really how hard is it to do basic math, ummm let's see - it's two dollars a lunch and I loaded 40 dollars on the account 5-6 weeks ago - think MAYBE the account is getting low?  They also could go online and check or set up autopay.

Each of these districts, including Salt Lake City, has computerized programs that enable parents to set up recurring payments and get timely notifications. Salt Lake City encourages parents to use that system, which can be accessed from its website.
Read more at www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=28541664#3BTf6lthrYkArUJi.99

But we'll blame everyone BUT the parents whose responsibility should be to make sure their kids are fed.  After all everyone else should be more responsible then the people who created the child, right?

BTW if I recall the food was cafeteria pizza - they did the homeless dog a favor by not feeding it the food.

They had already given the kids the food. What was the point if throwing out good food? At least before they tossed it they could bill the parents. Since they took their trays and tossed it they will not get paid for it.

How does that make any sense to you?

And I can explain how my kids went in the hole. In our school the kids can buy ala cart. It adds up quickly. Regardless, my kid should never go hungry because I forget to send in a check.

And how will you learn about being repsonsible that way? Forget to send in a check once, and how many other times will it happen? How often do you expect other people to be responsible for feeding your child?

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 8, 2014 10:17:05 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Jan 30, 2014 18:26:32 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

I'm as conservative as they come but I do not and will not ever agree to let a child to hungry because their parent doesn't send in lunch money. In our school, if the account is overdrawn the kids get PB&J (we are racist fuckers!). My kids have overdrawn their account because they forget to give me the note.

They went way overboard by throwing away good food as punishment. Seriously, what the fuck?

Well, it got the parents' attention, didn't it?  The notes weren't very effective, but maybe now the parents will wake the fuck up

Sometimes extremes are the only way to get through to some people.  Unfortunately, the schools' only tool to get to the parents are their kids.

So hurt the kid because the parents are stupid or forgetful? I will never agree with that. Besides the fact that the lunches were tossed in the garbage. That is crazy

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 8, 2014 10:19:44 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Jan 30, 2014 20:47:32 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

They had already given the kids the food. What was the point if throwing out good food? At least before they tossed it they could bill the parents. Since they took their trays and tossed it they will not get paid for it.

How does that make any sense to you?

And I can explain how my kids went in the hole. In our school the kids can buy ala cart. It adds up quickly. Regardless, my kid should never go hungry because I forget to send in a check.

And how will you learn about being repsonsible that way? Forget to send in a check once, and how many other times will it happen? How often do you expect other people to be responsible for feeding your child?

What the hell are you talking about? Where did I ever say I expect someone else to pay for my kids' lunches? Has my kid gone negative because she spent the money way quicker than she should have (to the tune of $10 a day!), yes she has. I send $100 at the beginning if each month, which should be more than enough to cover her lunches. The fact that I didn't know her account was negative does not mean I expect someone else to pay for it. I love how you pompous jackasses judge everyone without even knowing them.

In our schoo, once they go negative the only thing you can buy is a Racist PB&J sandwhich. But no kid ever goes hungry.

[jkapp]

Feb 8, 2014 16:19:15 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Feb 8, 2014 10:17:05 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Well, it got the parents' attention, didn't it?  The notes weren't very effective, but maybe now the parents will wake the fuck up

Sometimes extremes are the only way to get through to some people.  Unfortunately, the schools' only tool to get to the parents are their kids.

So hurt the kid because the parents are stupid or forgetful? I will never agree with that. Besides the fact that the lunches were tossed in the garbage. That is crazy

This doesn't sound much like a stupid or forgetful parent thing...it sounds more like a parent ignoring their responsibilities issue.  And then they get upset when the other party doesn't fulfill an obligation the parents willfully defied.

And the fact that the food was just thrown away is the way such things are handled.  Is it the "right" thing to do?  Probably not, but neither is ignoring a note requiring payment.  And, yes, the child must suffer (the child in the story was given alternative food, so there wasn't that much suffering).  Just as the child would suffer at any other establishment if the parents refused to pay for goods/services.  The government will take that family's house away if the parents ignore paying property taxes...even if it means the house will sit empty. That is the consequence of not fulfilling obligations. I know the term "consequences" is foreign to many people these days, as is personal responsibility, but they do still happen whether people are familiar with them or not.

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 8, 2014 22:56:23 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Feb 8, 2014 16:19:15 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

So hurt the kid because the parents are stupid or forgetful? I will never agree with that. Besides the fact that the lunches were tossed in the garbage. That is crazy

This doesn't sound much like a stupid or forgetful parent thing...it sounds more like a parent ignoring their responsibilities issue.  And then they get upset when the other party doesn't fulfill an obligation the parents willfully defied.

And the fact that the food was just thrown away is the way such things are handled.  Is it the "right" thing to do?  Probably not, but neither is ignoring a note requiring payment.  And, yes, the child must suffer (the child in the story was given alternative food, so there wasn't that much suffering).  Just as the child would suffer at any other establishment if the parents refused to pay for goods/services.  The government will take that family's house away if the parents ignore paying property taxes...even if it means the house will sit empty. That is the consequence of not fulfilling obligations. I know the term "consequences" is foreign to many people these days, as is personal responsibility, but they do still happen whether people are familiar with them or not.

Yay me...I'm an entitled leech....does that mean an Escalade and crab legs are going to magically appear?

It must be so nice to be so perfect that you can sit up on that high horse if yours and judge everyone else.

It is lunch. Sorry, I am not such a hateful, cold person that I would want kids to go hungry when there is food that is just going to be thrown out. It is wrong on so many levels.

And if you read the article or any if the related articles, the director if the food program admitted that there were lots of glitches with their system and there is a good chance that the parents didn't get the automatic texts or emails that they are supposed to get. I suppose perfect people like you would log in and check their account each day. The kids if everyone else should just starve, I guess

[zibazinski]

Seriously? It's MY job to keep track of whether my kids need lunch money or not. Not the schools. That some schools do is a courtesy, not a requirement. 

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 9:22:58 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Seriously? It's MY job to keep track of whether my kids need lunch money or not. Not the schools. That some schools do is a courtesy, not a requirement. 

Yes it is. Just like it is my job to keep track of my children's. but once or twice I've screwed up and they to negative. I don't expect my kid to starve because of my error. This isn't me trying to get the school to pay for my kids' lunches, it is me screwing up. That is between me and the school, not my child and the school.

I'm not perfect and never claimed to be. I don't expect my child to pay for my mistake.

I shouldn't be surprised but reading this thread makes me realize what a bunch of cold hearted bastards there really are in this world.

[zibazinski]

There's sandwiches if your kid forgets or if the school forgets. Neither of my kids are pb&j fans or cheese fans so they'd have told me very quickly if I had messed up. But I used to send a check in on the first of the month so usually they had money left over at year end. That way it was just like paying the electric bill, habit and clockwork.

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 10:22:44 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

There's sandwiches if your kid forgets or if the school forgets. Neither of my kids are pb&j fans or cheese fans so they'd have told me very quickly if I had messed up. But I used to send a check in on the first of the month so usually they had money left over at year end. That way it was just like paying the electric bill, habit and clockwork.

Umm...I have already said I send in $100 at the beginning of each month, which should last more than a month. But it didn't and I was caught off guard (btw, I now make my oldest brown bag it because I am convinced she was buying shit for those kids that couldn't afford to buy the snacks and stuff...no kid should blow through $10 a day!)

And I've already said that our school only gives out racist PB&J if the kids account is overdrawn. How about you read my posts before you start blasting me.

[zibazinski]

Dang! A hundred bucks? I sent in a check for $20. Holy cow!

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 10:31:54 GMT -5 zibazinski said:

Dang! A hundred bucks? I sent in a check for $20. Holy cow!

Which is why I never thought she would blow through it in under a month. Unlike when I was in school, the cafeteria has been turned into a mini restaurant. There is no buying a lunch for $2.50 a day and everyone getting the same thing. There are all kinds if stations the kids can go to, smoothies, snacks, etc. based in the prices I am guessing the cafeteria is a money maker.

I no longer send in money because my daughter was not being responsible. She now brown bags it like "a poor kid" (her words :-p)

My point was that it isn't easy to know when your kid will be out if money in my school district. If she forgets to tell me the night before (I leave well before she does) then she doesn't have a check to take to school. Sure, we can all sit here and say kids should be responsible but they just aren't. And I don't think a kid should starve all day because if something like that.

I don't know what our school does once a balance hits a certain number. Ours never went more than a day before I sent in a check. I do know that you can't get your report card if you owe the school any money. Ultimately I would guess it would be legal action against the parents but that is a guess

[jkapp]

Feb 9, 2014 6:02:54 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Feb 8, 2014 22:56:23 GMT -5 jkapp said:

This doesn't sound much like a stupid or forgetful parent thing...it sounds more like a parent ignoring their responsibilities issue.  And then they get upset when the other party doesn't fulfill an obligation the parents willfully defied.

And the fact that the food was just thrown away is the way such things are handled.  Is it the "right" thing to do?  Probably not, but neither is ignoring a note requiring payment.  And, yes, the child must suffer (the child in the story was given alternative food, so there wasn't that much suffering).  Just as the child would suffer at any other establishment if the parents refused to pay for goods/services.  The government will take that family's house away if the parents ignore paying property taxes...even if it means the house will sit empty. That is the consequence of not fulfilling obligations. I know the term "consequences" is foreign to many people these days, as is personal responsibility, but they do still happen whether people are familiar with them or not.

Yay me...I'm an entitled leech....does that mean an Escalade and crab legs are going to magically appear?

It must be so nice to be so perfect that you can sit up on that high horse if yours and judge everyone else.

It is lunch. Sorry, I am not such a hateful, cold person that I would want kids to go hungry when there is food that is just going to be thrown out. It is wrong on so many levels.

And if you read the article or any if the related articles, the director if the food program admitted that there were lots of glitches with their system and there is a good chance that the parents didn't get the automatic texts or emails that they are supposed to get. I suppose perfect people like you would log in and check their account each day. The kids if everyone else should just starve, I guess

And all it will take is for a bunch of kids/parents to find out the school will keep giving out lunches whether the parents pay or not, and a shit storm will develop. Cold hearted is wanting the schools to get even more deeply in financial hock.   

If parents don't want the food thrown out, then let's just end school lunches and have all kids bring their own food.  There...no waste and no risk of parents "forgetting" to pay for school lunches.

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 10:52:45 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Feb 9, 2014 6:02:54 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Yay me...I'm an entitled leech....does that mean an Escalade and crab legs are going to magically appear?

It must be so nice to be so perfect that you can sit up on that high horse if yours and judge everyone else.

It is lunch. Sorry, I am not such a hateful, cold person that I would want kids to go hungry when there is food that is just going to be thrown out. It is wrong on so many levels.

And if you read the article or any if the related articles, the director if the food program admitted that there were lots of glitches with their system and there is a good chance that the parents didn't get the automatic texts or emails that they are supposed to get. I suppose perfect people like you would log in and check their account each day. The kids if everyone else should just starve, I guess

And all it will take is for a bunch of kids/parents to find out the school will keep giving out lunches whether the parents pay or not, and a shit storm will develop. Cold hearted is wanting the schools to get even more deeply in financial hock.   

If parents don't want the food thrown out, then let's just end school lunches and have all kids bring their own food.  There...no waste and no risk of parents "forgetting" to pay for school lunches.

Are you accusing me if trying to get a free lunch for my child?

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 10:52:45 GMT -5 jkapp said:

Feb 9, 2014 6:02:54 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

Yay me...I'm an entitled leech....does that mean an Escalade and crab legs are going to magically appear?

It must be so nice to be so perfect that you can sit up on that high horse if yours and judge everyone else.

It is lunch. Sorry, I am not such a hateful, cold person that I would want kids to go hungry when there is food that is just going to be thrown out. It is wrong on so many levels.

And if you read the article or any if the related articles, the director if the food program admitted that there were lots of glitches with their system and there is a good chance that the parents didn't get the automatic texts or emails that they are supposed to get. I suppose perfect people like you would log in and check their account each day. The kids if everyone else should just starve, I guess

And all it will take is for a bunch of kids/parents to find out the school will keep giving out lunches whether the parents pay or not, and a shit storm will develop. Cold hearted is wanting the schools to get even more deeply in financial hock.   

If parents don't want the food thrown out, then let's just end school lunches and have all kids bring their own food.  There...no waste and no risk of parents "forgetting" to pay for school lunches.

Considering both of my kids brown bag it now (one private school doesn't provide lunch and my other one isn't responsible enough to make good choices) I wouldn't care if our school did away with the lunch program. But I'm not poor and my kids wouldn't get reduced cost lunches. Those parents might care.

[billisonboard]

Feb 9, 2014 10:26:33 GMT -5 Miss Tequila said:

... racist PB&J ...

[mmhmm]

I'm a little confused.  While I agree throwing already prepared food away seems a little silly, I also see there's a problem when some parents will not pay the costs of their childrens' lunches. I think I read these kids were offered sandwiches in lieu of hot meals.  Is that correct?  If it is, they weren't going to starve.  

[Miss Tequila]

Feb 9, 2014 12:55:38 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

I'm a little confused.  While I agree throwing already prepared food away seems a little silly, I also see there's a problem when some parents will not pay the costs of their childrens' lunches. I think I read these kids were offered sandwiches in lieu of hot meals.  Is that correct?  If it is, they weren't going to starve.  

No. They were given an orange and a milk. My school gives PB&J sandwhiches if your account is overdrawn.

[mmhmm]

Ahh.  Okay.  Thanks, MT.  While they won't starve with only an orange and milk for lunch (provided they're fed at home), it's still not really enough for a kid. A sandwich would have been much more acceptable.  It does sound like the school has a real problem with some folks riding the gravy train at the expense of others, including (in this case) their own kids.  There are those who will happily glide along letting others take care of their responsibilities.  I can understand the school's need to sort this out.  Like you, though, I hate to see the kids made to pay for the irresponsibility of their parents.  Can't say I know what to do about it, though.

[workpublic]

peer pressure and necessary shaming is a great motivator, imho.

that's one of the few ways "the village" should be used. imho.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Totally get where the school is coming from.  He aren't talking a 100 bucks here.  We are talking millions of dollars school can't afford to lose.  BUT?  There has to be another solution rather than humiliating or not adequately feeding kids who have ZERO control over what their parents do or do not do.  This is the one and only reason I would hesitate putting in mandatory drug and alcohol testing as a requirement for getting government assistance.  It's the little ones who would pay the price.  There is no way in hell I could stand there and see the look in the eyes of a little 2nd grader who gets told they only get an orange or a cold sandwich.  Life is hard enough for these kids.  Shouldn't school be the one place they can go to be taken care of?  Not starving isn't the only issue here.  There have to be some emotional ramifications also.

That being said, I'm afraid I don't have a better idea.

[billisonboard]

Our kids would have come home, told us what happened, blamed us, and we would have added to the tally another six months of therapy that we promised them we would pay for when they were adults as a result of each parenting screw-up.  No big deal.

[Green Eyed Lady]

Maybe it isn't a "big deal" to the kids.  I don't have kids so I don't know how they react to situations like this.  The only experience I have is being in school with very disadvantaged kid and seeing her get teased by really mean people.  I finally got up the nerve to step up and say something, but it was too little and way too late.  Something I have to live with forever.  It breaks my heart to see how awful kids can be to other kids and this just gives the little meanies ammo.

Maybe it doesn't bother them at all.  I sure hope that's the case.