We solve this scenario with a lesson in economics in our house. The deal is, I’ll give the kids as adjusted allowance every week for the cost of lunch. I’ll also buy stuff for them to make lunch. They can make lunch and pocket the money, or they can buy lunch and save the time. I buy stuff based on their trending, so if they buy often, changing their mind might take some time before there is stuff to make lunch with.
It’s free bonus money if they want it. Kid 1 buys every day, Kid 2 has only bought once all year so far, and has a much larger bank account.
When they want something then, kid 2 always has the cash, while kid 1 must go without.
I remember that meal plan bullshit at my alma mater, U. of Pittsburgh.
What a ripoff that was. If you lived in the dorms you were forced to have one.
There was very little healthy food and it was never presumed that you would have any way of cooking for yourself. The whole damn concept of forced food plans is idiotic and added greatly to my student debt that I am still paying off I’m sure.
That said the school administrator should be absolutely ashamed of themselves and how they are punishing people for being poor. And that’s exactly what they’re doing here when they refuse to have the debt paid by someone who can afford to- this is a new form of debtor prison
Why are you loading your parental issues onto the school, which obviously has better things to do than monitor your child’s eating habits? Your kids racked up a debt, you need to pay it since you are their guardian.
I would love to see a demo break-down of the indebted group. With the Cherry Hill district refusing the remedial donation and denying attendance at the prom and field trips, it sounds like a certain group has found a sledge-hammer way of keeping certain groups separated.
I am going to give you one single chance here and hope perhaps you misunderstand.
When a child goes to school they have a lunch account. The school does not stop the child from buying lunch regardless of the balance on the account. So if there is $25 loaded on it or it is -$25 in deficit…the school just charges the account for whatever the child purchases.
Now if you feel that a parent should and can control every aspect of their child’s day by sheer will alone, and/or that a child exercising freedom of choice and choosing to buy a milk, soda, and slice of pizza regardless of the account being in the negative or them having a lunch from home…then clearly you do not have children and perhaps should not make comments about one’s parenting abilities.
So, by all means dig deeper into this hole or apologize for talking out of a dark orifice.
It does. My favorite part is that the lunch break is a full hour long, making it an actual class in socialization and manners. There seems to be a range of ages around the table, and I wonder if the table groups are assigned by the teachers or if the pupils choose their own.
Nope. The school has a policy that students can get food, even when there is no money on their card. Basically running a tab. Could be technical reasons, could be to ensure students don’t go hungry if there is no money on their card. You have told your child not to use this service as lunch has been provided by the family. Your child refuses to abide by your rules and instead borrows money on your name for temporary gratification. You now want the school to change their policies based on your inability to control your child. She is not choosing to buy a milk or a slice of pizza, she is stealing. Taking something that is not hers, since you have forbidden her from taking it. What do you do? Demand the school change their policies in order to accommodate you. The school has done nothing wrong. You need to pay your obligations and teach your child not to steal.
If I had pulled something like that when I was a kid, my Dad would have made my life a living hell. He would not have ran to school to somehow blame them. If a kid shoplifts, do you blame the store for putting chocolate bars close to the door?
The touch and the tornado; all our guns give tongue together,
St Barbara for the gunnery and God defend the right,
They are stopped and gapped and battered as we blast away the weather,
Building window upon window to our lady of the light.
For the light is come on Liberty, her foes are falling, falling,
They are reeling, they are running, as the shameful years have run,
She is risen for all the humble, she has heard the conquered calling,
St Barbara of the Gunners, with her hand upon the gun.
They are burst asunder in the midst that eat of their own flatteries,
Whose lip is curled to order as its barbered hair is curled…
Blast of the beauty of sudden death, St Barbara of the batteries!
That blow the new white window in the wall of all the world.
IANAL but doesn’t a creditor have a legal obligation to take any payment? Refusal to accept payment may even lead to nullification of the debt I think.
Think about it, otherwise a creditor could refuse any payment and just slap on the interests until any debtor is bankrupt…
There should be no division into paid and free lunch program at public school. It feels like a caste system this way. It’s like some children are “better” because their parents are more affluent.
Excluding students from some activities because of their parents’ debt and giving extra privileges to students whose parents make financial donations to school feels even more like a caste system.
And it’s not a frenzy of picky eaters throwing tantrums, and demanding special treatment, and custom food options. It’s like they had (gasp) actual manners.
I wish I’d had some kind of education in that vein, how to dine. The first time I went to a fancy dinner, I felt so out of my element, like I was going to embarrass myself. I remember thinking that I’d have been more comfortable serving the plates, than I was eating.
