School Lunch Payment question..

[mudnuri]

Our Middle School- grades 5-8, no longer allows children to charge a school lunch, should they for whatever reason forget their money...NEVER ...regardless of circumstance.

When I went to this same school, we could charge, but if we had outstanding debt, our report cards were held...

Now- some people pay by the month- we do. DD's pick what days they are getting school lunch, and I write out one check...now if for instance I paid for 11 for a month, and for some reason, DD tried to get a lunch for day 12, because we lost track or WHATEVER...if DD was in the middle school, SHE WOULD GO WITHOUT LUNCH!...in her elementary school, she can charge it

There is a few teachers who have given kids money to get lunch etc.. but by gosh- it's $1.35 for lunch- just let the kids charge it!...99% of the time it's not their fault, its the parents for not getting them the money..

What do you think?

Brandy

 

[crazyme5kids]

Wow! Is that legal? The distict I am in lets the kids charge 3 times. After that if the lunch bill isn't paid up they can get something like a peanut butter sandwhich until it is paid.

 

[clh2]

Why not put a couple of bucks in an "emergency envelope" somewhere in their backpack? Do you have to pay by the month? why not include enough for a couple of extra lunches - would it carry over to the next month?

My guess is - they will let the elementary school kids "charge" a lunch because they probably prohibit cash in the lunch line. In the upper grades, they probably figure that if the kids run out of lunch money - that they probably would have a couple of bucks to buy their own lunch, or they would be able to borrow it from friends.

In our school district - we send in a check for whatever amount we feel is appropriate, we can call in to a voice mail system and check our account balance. When you get to <$5.00 per child, it will send an automated call to your house.

My DD eats hot lunch about half the time - I try to send in over 2 months of money at one time, then I just don't have to worry about. The lunch account is also for milk.

 

[r3ngels]

At my DD's school we write a check in the begining of the year for 10,20 etc lunches and when she has 5 left we get a note home saying she is running out then we send a check in again. It is a pretty good system but they will not give lunch to those who don't have lunches left on the account, just like your school, which I think is crazy. I kept picturing my DD starving so I put money for 2 lunches in a ziploc and put it in her small pocket in her backpack just in case...

 

[CPM]

I'd check to see if this is even legal! Our school gives the kids that forget, a cheese sandwhich and a note to go home! LOL I think after a few dry cheese sandwiches they might remember their money!
We send in money and they ahve to punch in a number, they get a notice when the account is low.

 

[SandiH]

Several people mentioned "is this even legal?" Why would it not be? If I forgot to send a packed lunch to school, I wouldn't expect my child to be able to charge a lunch - especially a middle school child. My third grader knows when his lunch account is getting low (even if it's not too low) he tells me about it. Nothing says schools have to feed children. It's the parents responsibility to ensure that their is money in a child's account or that a child has money or a packed lunch.

The accounting system should show a balance left on the account as the child purchases the lunch - have your child be responsible for finding that out each time he/she purchases a lunch.

Just my very humble opinion,

Sandi

 

[Beauty]

Our kids are allowed to charge their lunches and if they have an outstanding balance then they get a note the week report cards are coming out. The same thing happens with overdue library books.

I always send J.C. a few extra dollars though for ice cream or an extra piece of pizza which he loves.

 

[CPM]

Originally posted by SandiH
Several people mentioned "is this even legal?" Why would it not be? If I forgot to send a packed lunch to school, I wouldn't expect my child to be able to charge a lunch - especially a middle school child. My third grader knows when his lunch account is getting low (even if it's not too low) he tells me about it. Nothing says schools have to feed children. It's the parents responsibility to ensure that their is money in a child's account or that a child has money or a packed lunch.
Just my very humble opinion,
Sandi

I agree with you Sandi, I just seems a bit extreme to say they *can't* charge a few lunches. Therea re plenty of times my son runs out of the house forgetting his lunch or leaves it on the bus. I can't always run to school with money if he doesn't have any money in his account. It's rarely a problem, but we are human and sometimes to forget to send the money in.
Quite frankly some people may not *have* the money, who knows. It just seems petty to not let them charge a few.

 

[thatchicktrish]

If there isn't enough money in DS's lunch account, they give him lunch anyway but send home a note saying the account is on zero and we need to put more money in to cover what he bought that day and for lunches after that. His school lunches cost $1.65 In elementary school my lunch was 75 cents, time sure have changed.

 

[disykat]

This is middle school - I'd say let them tough it out. Chances are their friends will share something with them. If it were grade school I'd feel differently, but by 5th grade they should be able to deal with it. If your child tends to forget, I'd have him get in the habit of packing a snack just in case.

For the people who feel middle school is too young - at what age do you think they should have to remember?

 

[tiggerlover]

Our school has lunch tickets, no charging. However, the PTA purchases Oooops Tickets for the kids who have forgotten lunch or their lunch ticket. I child can borrow a lunch ticket but then is asked to replace it or they can't use the Oooops tickets again. It is all on the honor system and in the two years I have been here we (PTA) always get the tickets back.

I think there should be some sort of "emergency" lunch ticket/charge in place, things happen and it isn't always the kids fault.

BTW, our school lunches are $1.95, a bit more than some of the others. I wonder how the different schools compare and how much a difference in content there is for the price difference. (Also, the middle schoolers pay $2.10).

 

[Kermit]

Originally posted by SandiH
Nothing says schools have to feed children.

Actually, there are all kinds of laws saying that schools do have to feed children.

I think that there should be something that the kids can do if they don't have money one day, especially if the school doesn't have a reminder system for when a student's account gets low. It's not always that the child forgets the money. Sometimes they may lose it or even have it taken from them.

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I don't think any child should go hungry. Our school lets us prepay by check or we can go on line and set up an account.

Lori

 

[Cindy B]

my kids elementary school doesnt have anything really in place that I know of. My kids bring their lunch. One time my daughter thought she forgot her lunch, and an aide gave her the $2.00, yes $2.00 for lunch. She sent in some money for the aide to cover for it.

In the middle school, the lunch is $3.00. You can borrow money from the library or the principal. There is a log book. If however the librariran is not there, or the principal isnt there, there is no system in place.

There was a studnet that I noticed (as an aide) who was never eating lunch. I talked to the guidance counselor about it, and found out that this student could possibly be eligible for some programs. The parent filled out the form and then she was able to eat at lunch time.

 

[crazyme5kids]

The fact is that no child should go hungry for any reason! My one son is in 6th grade and will be turning 12. So I think it is cruel to say let a middle schooler "tough it out". These kids are still young children.

 

[tkd lisa]

Our system does the cheese sandwich for kids that don't have $ in their account in middle school. No notice has come home yet, but DD does tell me then that she's out of money.

In elementary, they can't choose, they can only get whatever the lunch room has more of if they don't have $ in their account. We also get a written notice home if the child has charged more than once in elementary.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

there are laws in place that all schools who accept Federal Funds have to follow, but I have know idea what they are. Once my son reached 6th grade, I gave him an envelope of 3 $1 bills and a couple of quarters to keep as an emergency fund in his locker. He would use it to pay for emergency lunches when he forgot his lunch and also if he forgot he PE uniform it cost 25 cents to rent one. He's pretty good about not blowing it on the Pop machines.

Our elementary school allows students to charge and does the peanut butter sandwich thing once the reach a certain negative balance.

 

[Disney Ella]

At the beginning of the year, my kids told me that one of the other kids (2nd grader) didn't have a lunch for some reason and one of the cafeteria ladies told her that was just too bad. The girl started to cry and some of the other kids shared with her. I told my DDs if they ever see that happen again, they are to share with the child who doesn't have a lunch. My DD said, "But we're not allowed to share food!" I told her to do it anyway.

Since then, other kids who have not had a lunch have been given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, so this girl's parents may have complained.

I do not agree with denying a child food at any age. If I forget to bring a lunch, I can go out to a store or restaurant on my lunch break and get something. If I don't have any money, I can go to an ATM machine. Children in school don't have those options. They are pretty much prisoners during the school day. To deny them food is just cruel.

 

[pjlla]

Good for you Disney Ella! I would tell my kids the same thing! Even if it isn't the "law" that we have to feed the kids, don't we have some sort of moral obligation?? I'm sure that there are kids/families out there who would and do take advantage of the situation by not sending $ in on purpose, but hopefully only a few. I felt bad for my daughter (3rd grade) who forgot her snack milk money one day and didn't remember that she had money on her lunch account she could have charged it to. I would feel TERRIBLE if I thought there was a child out there who didn't eat lunch just because of an oversight.

My DS has another child in his Kindergarten class who never (really never, not even once) brings snack in. Apparently his parents have been reminded, but for some reason choose to "forget" his snack. (And no, there is no medical reason why he should be eating.) (There are definite "issues" with this child and his family, which I won't go into.) Some of the other parents who have become aware of this have started sending in boxes of extra snack for the teacher to have on hand for this child, and for any other child who may forget snack one day.

I would certainly be willing to offer something similar to the cafeteria to have on hand if they weren't willing to offer lunch to a child who might have forgotten their lunch money or run out of money on their account. But fortunately our school cafeteria is very forgiving and will let you charge for a few days before you are reduced to PB&J and water. Not sure how long they would continue to give you the PB&J.

BTW, our hot lunch in the elementary school is $1.40........P

 

[sharbear]

I am going to play Devil's Advocate for a min. I want to state that I think that all children should be able to eat lunch.

Our PTO runs our lunch program. It's a long story but our school still has open luch periods and the school doesn't have a cafeteria so PTO runs a lunch program and brings lunches in. I live in a school district where everyone can afford to pay for their kids lunches. Every year there are people who forget to pack their kids lunches, pay for lunch, etc. In the elementary school if a child forgot lunch they could charge. But there were people who abused the system repeately. The kids would charge all the time, the parents would not pay.

I know that the treasurer felt like she was a collection agency. I know that there were kids who could not charge because their parents would not pay the bill. These are not people who can't pay, they for whatever reason forget to pay.

Maybe the school got tired of trying to be a collection agency. I have found that most of the time, it is a few people who ruin it for the rest of us.

When I helped out in the lunch room I always felt sorry for the kids and would slip them food if they forgot their lunch. I'm just saying that there are two sides to every story.