Texas school tosses 6th grader’s breakfast in trash after he can’t pay 30 cents

[hopfrog]

I remember the afternoons in class where we would be given a carton of milk and

a small cookie before laying out our blankeys for the 15 minute nap time.

The teacher would play a soothing recording...usually something like 'the farmer in the dell' and we would squirm

and giggle for a short time but soon there was a peaceful silence.


The fact that this was 1982 at UC Berkeley is not really the point of my story.


When we allow the schools to take over the responsibilities of parents beyond the basics of  'an unusually

awkward' education we face the danger of the latest well-meaning control junkies.

They will tell you that the best interest of your child is in the best interest of the state.

Or is it the other way 'round ?

[Undies]

Dear little goonie-ass DUmmies:

So this particular Zero Tolerance Policy is a bad thing, huh? 

So NOW you expect common sense to prevail, huh?

Idiots.

[lastparker]

With that said, it was pretty darned nasty of the cafeteria worker to throw away the food rather than give it to the child.  My grandmother was a school cafeteria worker, bless her soul.  She would have never let a child go hungry.  America ain't what she used to be. 

I'm pretty sure the kid was told repeatedly that he needed money on his account.  While I feel bad for him and I'm not entirely in agreement with the way this was handled, there are parents who will just ignore these requests because they expect the kid to be fed for free.
From their website:

Food and Nutrition Services
MEAL CHARGE AND COLLECTION PROCEDURE
2013-2014
Middle School:

Number of Outstanding Charges Permitted

One Lunch charge
No Breakfast Meals charged

Notifications to Student of Account Balance
Verbal Reminders daily. First Written Reminder: when balance drops below $4.00 (Paid) or $1.00 (Reduced)

Charge Notifications
Third Reminder: at Cashier Station, verbal reminder that you have 1 charge and will not be allowed to charge tomorrow. Money must be put
on your account to eat tomorrow. Charge List also given to front office to aid in collection in the event of a child withdrawing from school.
 
Procedure for Unpaid Charges
The FNS Manager and/or office staff will call the parents to request payment of money owed to the student’s account. We will provide
the current status of student’s account. If a student has a Milk and Fruit for 3 days consecutively we will notify the Principal who will contact our
Director of Student Services for
follow-up with family.

Principal Assistance
Assist in collecting from students that are withdrawing.
 
Complimentary foods offered when charge limits have been exceeded
milk and fruit
Note: This is always as a last resort.

[Gina]

She ain't missed any meals....bet the kid is fat too.

I was thinking the same thing the minute I read the story. To be honest I don't think one missed meal is going to kill the kid no matter the weight and it should be a valuable lesson for the kid and mom to keep tabs on money they owe.  But they will rely on everyone else through life to take care of them.

[Carl]

I try to keep optimistic about things but now and then something like this comes along and I truly wonder if there is any hope for the country.
The mother is not the slightest bit remorseful about anything,the school feeding her own child for .30 is expected and taken for granted.

[Tucker]

Didn't this also happen in a leftist state about a year or two ago?

http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/21872106/cashier-denies-school-lunch-credit-to-students-orders-others-to-throw-lunch-out

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/Willingboro-Schools-May-Throw-Out-Lunches-223193791.html

[Purple Sage]

I'm pretty sure the kid was told repeatedly that he needed money on his account.  While I feel bad for him and I'm not entirely in agreement with the way this was handled, there are parents who will just ignore these requests because they expect the kid to be fed for free.
From their website:

After they threw away his breakfast, he would have been offered milk and fruit according to the website you posted.  If they followed their rules and I'm willing to bet they did, she has no bitch coming.  At all. And should be properly bitch-slapped.

[Purple Sage]

I try to keep optimistic about things but now and then something like this comes along and I truly wonder if there is any hope for the country.
The mother is not the slightest bit remorseful about anything,the school feeding her own child for .30 is expected and taken for granted.

Good point.  I have to admit to being as bad as a DUmmie when it comes to our public school systems.  I despise them.  I automatically assume the worst when I hear a story coming out of one of them.  I'd like to see the DOE completely shut down.

[Ptarmigan]

So, she has time to drive to school to bring money, but no time to scramble a couple eggs and put a piece of bread in the toaster to make him breakfast before school. 

She could toast and give him cereal. That takes little time.

[Dori]

She could toast and give him cereal. That takes little time.

Sounds like a time problem.  Some kids are pokey in the mornings (I was).  Just put enough money on the kids food card to get him through the school semester/year.

[Mike220]

Sounds like a time problem.  Some kids are pokey in the mornings (I was).  Just put enough money on the kids food card to get him through the school semester/year.

Wonder how expensive that would be...

.30 per meal*5 meals per week*36 weeks (assuming there are still six 6-week periods in a school year)=$54.00 for an entire school year worth of breakfast. I call bullshit if parents can't come up with that. That's $1.50/week.

[Dori]

Wonder how expensive that would be...

.30 per meal*5 meals per week*36 weeks (assuming there are still six 6-week periods in a school year)=$54.00 for an entire school year worth of breakfast. I call bullshit if parents can't come up with that. That's $1.50/week.

That's pretty cheap actually.  I don't think you could feed them a balanced meal at home for that price.  It must be subsidized by the government.

[GOBUCKS]

Thirty cents a meal? What are they having, Kobe beef?

According to those charity scams on TV, you can feed a kid in South America  for a year on thirty cents.

And he'll write you a letter.

[DumbAss Tanker]

So the kids get both breakfast and lunch at school--provided they have the cash?  What about supper?  It would make for a lot less dirty dishes at home.

You kid, but a lot of schools have 'Latch-key' after-school programs which DO serve food, not a full meal though.

Just FWIW, my kids' school here in the backward Red State Hell For Libs that is the MO Ozarks would keep serving them food when the accounts ran dry, they'd just send reminders to the parents to cough up.  Even if they were totally delinquent on paying, they'd still give them PBJs.

[lastparker]

Thirty cents a meal? What are they having, Kobe beef?

According to those charity scams on TV, you can feed a kid in South America  for a year on thirty cents.

And he'll write you a letter.

 

[I_B_Perky]

I have no idea how it is done in other districts but around here they will keep feeding the kid and hold the grades at the end of the year until all accounts are settled. That was told to be by the school admin when I called them to try to get an address change for an unknown person's bill that kept coming to my PO Box. I was afraid the kid wouldn't get fed due to a fat finger by some clerk.  The lady I talked to on the phone told me just to throw the bills away when they came. Seems their software wouldn't let them not put in an address and I had no clue what the correct address was. I just wanted the bills to stop coming to my PO Box.