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School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 1/31/2014 4:31:27 PM

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http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57472249-78/district-lunch-lunches-students.html.csp

This is an outrage. There is an investigation of this, but apparently, some kids went through the cafeteria line, got their lunches, but then someone realized they had a negative balance on their account, so they took their lunches and threw them in the trash. They gave them a piece of fruit and some milk instead.

RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 1/31/2014 4:39:40 PM

kdsub

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I think a warning and a message sent to the parents would have been a better option. For all we know the parents could have been giving them lunch money and they spending it somewhere else.

But ...money is tight everywhere in our school systems and although this was handled poorly it is hardly reason for an investigation... I mean ...what is to investigate all the information is there.

Butch

< Message edited by kdsub -- 1/31/2014 4:41:26 PM >

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 1/31/2014 4:44:50 PM

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'we are investigating it' is a PR phrase that actually means "we screwed up and have no excuse so we are going to be quiet and hope it blows over quickly."

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 1/31/2014 5:27:06 PM

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Kd, could it have something to do that lil poor kids are being impacted, emotionally and physically by dumbarse rules imposed by arseholes who cut food programs?

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 1/31/2014 6:37:52 PM

kdsub

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Yes that is the very reason this was wrong...no investigation needed.

But

When I was a child I was part of a large family....we could not afford to buy our lunches...so we brought ours...My parents paid their bills and would never of let us take advantage of the system. I just think that there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to the embarrassment of these children and that includes the parents.

Butch

< Message edited by kdsub -- 1/31/2014 6:38:13 PM >

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 1:05:36 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: kdsub

I think a warning and a message sent to the parents would have been a better option. For all we know the parents could have been giving them lunch money and they spending it somewhere else.

But ...money is tight everywhere in our school systems and although this was handled poorly it is hardly reason for an investigation... I mean ...what is to investigate all the information is there.

Butch

Money may be tight all over, but is that an excuse to embarrass these kids in front of their class-mates for what is most likely their parents fault? It's not the kids who owe the money, it's their parents.

Also, it wasn't saving any money, since all the meals taken were immediately thrown out. So the kids didn't eat, a meal wasn't paid for, and food was thrown away. That makes sense how?

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 1:19:35 AM

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I'm gonna catch hell for this but, what else is new?

I think that since we require children between certain ages to go to school, the food should be provided by the school system/Board of Education/Municipality/County ... what the fuck ever.

Then, stuff like this would never happen. To shame a young child because their parents either can't or won't pay is visiting the sins of the father upon the son.

< Message edited by DaddySatyr -- 2/1/2014 1:46:14 AM >

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 5:33:45 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Lucylastic

Kd, could it have something to do that lil poor kids are being impacted, emotionally and physically by dumbarse rules imposed by arseholes who cut food programs?

No, but it doesn't surprise me a bit that someone has suggested it. After all the default response seems to be "blame the other guy" in most of the political threads. But just for shits and giggles please show me the part of the bill that says schools should give kids food and then take it away and throw it in the trash.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 5:54:20 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: thishereboi

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lucylastic
Kd, could it have something to do that lil poor kids are being impacted, emotionally and physically by dumbarse rules imposed by arseholes who cut food programs?

No, but it doesn't surprise me a bit that someone has suggested it.

And it only took four posts into the thread.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 5:54:50 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr

I'm gonna catch hell for this but, what else is new?

I think that since we require children between certain ages to go to school, the food should be provided by the school system/Board of Education/Municipality/County ... what the fuck ever.

So if the schools start paying for the lunches, what teachers should they let go instead and which programs should be cut? Most school systems are strapped for cash as it is and can't handle that kind of expense. How about instead these parents just pay? Or if they can't, send them with a lunch or apply for free or reduced lunch for their child.

I work/volunteer in the schools here so I've seen how much some parents owe for their child and with some, it's a small amount, like a day or two of forgotten lunch money. Others, we're talking hundreds of dollars. Letters are mailed home to these parents yet they're ignored. Would our schools shame the kids to get their parents to pay? No, but they will only give those kids a cheese sandwich, milk and an apple until they do.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 5:55:27 AM

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I hope the person who does this loses their job. I know I would if I did it.

I cannot speak to what they did there, but I can tell you what I do in the event of a student reaching their charge limit. It is my understanding that this is a protocol for every school that participates in the Free & Reduced lunch program.

A note is sent home every day that a student has charges. An automated phone call is sent out every evening to any student who has charges. If it becomes a regular thing, I call the parent and see if there have been any changes in income or household size that is putting a hardship on them. Sometimes I can get them qualified for free or reduced lunch and it fixes the problem.

Until this month, we had a principals account that was funded by donations so that I never had to give a student an alternate meal. It was abused by so many, we had to stop it when it became $500 in the hole. It breaks my heart to give a student an alternate meal, but most of the time, that is all it takes to get the parent to send money or at least contact me so I can see if I can help them in any way.

If a student is at the charge limit, they are given no breakfast and they are given a cheese or peanut butter sandwich and a drink of either milk or 100% fruit juice for lunch. The fact that this is going to happen is noted in every message sent to the parents, and with the phone calls, I can even see if it was answered by a person or a machine.

We work very hard to make sure that an alternate meal is given as discreetly as possible by having the student pick up a drink and come straight to the cashier. If a student happens to pick up a tray before we get to them, they are allowed to keep that tray. Taking it away from a student is absolutely forbidden and it is rang up as an "earned meal". It is 100% the responsibility of the food services manager to catch the students before they get a tray, and it can easily be done with a little bit of work.

We pull money out of our own pockets, as do teachers, to keep from serving an alternate meal. If it becomes a habit, I turn the family over to social services because it is neglect and abuse on the part of the parent to not take care of their child's needs for nutrition.

Sorry to have made this a novella, but you may be able to tell that this is something I take very seriously. When I first read this story, it made me sick, because there is no excuse to ever humiliate a kid. If a student does receive an alternate meal, they are given a letter to take home and I personally call every phone number that we have on file to make the parent aware.

Thankfully, the students most in need are qualified for Free or Reduced lunches. Most of the time it is purely a parent who does not give a rats ass that causes a child to go over the charge limit.

All of the food and nutrition workers I know love the kids, love their jobs and would never ever think about going into a cafeteria to humiliate them. I say again I hope that the person who did this is fired and not allowed to ever work around children again. It is inexcusable, and the only person to blame for letting charges get that out of hand is the manager in charge of that cafeteria.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 6:11:36 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: jezzabelle

So if the schools start paying for the lunches, what teachers should they let go instead and which programs should be cut? Most school systems are strapped for cash as it is and can't handle that kind of expense. How about instead these parents just pay? Or if they can't, send them with a lunch or apply for free or reduced lunch for their child.

What my post said was: if the government wants our children for 6-8 hours a day and forces us, by law, to send them, the government should feed them as well. Personally, I couldn't possibly care less which teacher loses their job. That's between them and the school board.

I know what my school taxes are here, in Kingston, Pennsyltucky. Do you know how many of my children ever went to school here? Do you know how many of my grandchildren will? Here's a hint: They're both the same value.

The school systems in this country are a fucking scam. How about we cut the "child study teams" which are self-congratulatory, redundant piles of steaming horse crap?

How about we cut "monitors" on school busses?

There's plenty of waste in the school system. How about the principles that make six-figure salaries in schools with less than 1,000 children?

Anyway, my post was never meant to suggest a specific; just that if the school wants to take control of our kids, let them take responsibility, also.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 6:35:04 AM

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Yeah, let's cut the monitors. Since they are on buses for special needs children, then Jimmy, who is autistic, can get out of his seat and get hurt, Sally, who bites her self all the time can do that and not bee noticed, Lisa can get out of her harness and grab the emergency exit door handle and fall out. JJ, who has seizures, can seize and maybe die because no one is there to hold his head upright to keep him from choking. But dammit look at the money we saved!

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 6:37:12 AM

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Zonie63
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/57472249-78/district-lunch-lunches-students.html.csp
This is an outrage. There is an investigation of this, but apparently, some kids went through the cafeteria line, got their lunches, but then someone realized they had a negative balance on their account, so they took their lunches and threw them in the trash. They gave them a piece of fruit and some milk instead.

The problem with this was that the kids were in line to get their food and they had their food before getting to the cashier. No one before the cashier would have known the balance on the kids' accounts, so, if the accounts are well past due and/or way overdrawn, what do you do? Do you let them go through the line this time but warn them they won't get a full lunch tomorrow? What happens when the same kid gets to the cashier the next day? Is it okay to toss the food in the trash?

The piece of fruit and milk are the default when a student can't afford a meal, so they at least get some nutrition.

Tossing the tray in the trash in front of everybody was not the wisest or nicest move, but taking the tray away is still going to impact the kid, even if it's thrown away back in the kitchen. The school is in a tough position here.

I find it interesting that the assumption is that the school didn't inform the parents about the issue.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 5:36:30 PM

Aylee

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quote:

ORIGINAL: jezzabelle

quote:

ORIGINAL: DaddySatyr

I'm gonna catch hell for this but, what else is new?

I think that since we require children between certain ages to go to school, the food should be provided by the school system/Board of Education/Municipality/County ... what the fuck ever.

So if the schools start paying for the lunches, what teachers should they let go instead and which programs should be cut? Most school systems are strapped for cash as it is and can't handle that kind of expense. How about instead these parents just pay? Or if they can't, send them with a lunch or apply for free or reduced lunch for their child.

I work/volunteer in the schools here so I've seen how much some parents owe for their child and with some, it's a small amount, like a day or two of forgotten lunch money. Others, we're talking hundreds of dollars. Letters are mailed home to these parents yet they're ignored. Would our schools shame the kids to get their parents to pay? No, but they will only give those kids a cheese sandwich, milk and an apple until they do.

The lowest performing 10% of teachers and 50% of the support/administrative staff is a good start.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 6:50:55 PM

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There are several different issues here.

The taking away of the lunches and throwing them away in front of everybody else was cruel and unthinking. How humiliating that must have been. There is no excuse whatsoever to subject a child to such treatment.
Whoever made that decision should be ashamed of their self. I don't know if I'd go so far as to fire them (maybe, if this kind of callousness is a recurring behavior) but they should at least sweat it out a little.

The piece of fruit and milk just adds salt to the wound. Children should not be treated as second class citizens (and that is the message such a measly meal sends) because of their parents lack of responsibility.

I like the idea of the school providing student meals for everyone. I see no reason why this would necessitate cuts in other areas of the school budget. If it necessitates higher taxes then so be it. Their are few things with better payoffs
for a society than investment in education . . . and properly fed students are a necessary part of that.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 6:54:59 PM

kdsub

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Just wondering...was it reported how many times the children had been told that payment was needed for lunches before this incident?

Butch

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 7:15:03 PM

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quote:

Just wondering...was it reported how many times the children had been told that payment was needed for lunches before this incident?

I don't know. Once I got the gist of the story (adults behaving like dicks toward children), I didn't really care to delve too much deeper. Even if they did, I
don't see how it would change anything. It was still no excuse to treat them that way and the school should deal directly with the parents.

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 7:44:51 PM

kdsub

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There comes a time when even children have to learn there are rules my friend... Now what would you say if these kids had been told over and over and thought they could just ignore the rules or were above them? Not saying this is the case but all the facts never come out in a story like this.

Yes I am reaching but it could have happened that way....I do almost hope it did because I agree that if there were no prior incidents it was an abhorrent act that both the school and the parents should be held accountable for.

Butch

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RE: School seizes kids' lunches over past due balances - 2/1/2014 7:53:24 PM

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quote:

There comes a time when even children have to learn there are rules my friend...

It wasn't the children who were breaking the rules. It was adults. The children just paid for it with their dignity.

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