Some schools are implementing tough punishments for parents whose kids have unpaid school lunch bills. Upshur County Schools disallow these parents from attending their kids' graduation ceremony while a school district in New Jersey will report these parents to the Child Protective Services. But are these punishments too harsh?
Banned From Graduation Ceremony
"Nobody should have the right to tell you, 'No, you can't watch your child graduate,'" Stacey Bailey, a mother who was unable to pay for the school lunch bills, told WDTV. The kids of these parents will still be able to graduate but they cannot have their parents with them during the ceremony.
Child Nutrition Director Cynthia Nesselroade explained that they never deny giving lunch meals to kids but they have to find ways to get payments for them. "We do have an obligation to expect payments for lunch bills," Nesselroade told WDTV. "Counties are not permitted to write off that debt, and therefore, counties do the best they can to get payment."
School lunch menu is about more than taste, price https://t.co/2Tll054BOW @annalappe @GoodFoodLA @sfchronicle pic.twitter.com/IzoqkFgoO5
— Civil Eats (@CivilEats) May 17, 2016
Child Neglect Report To Child Protective Services
A school district in New Jersey with a $100,000 lunch dept has a different way of making parents pay for the school lunch bills. At first, the school district will give two notices to these parents and if they do not respond, the parents will be asked to attend a school meeting regarding the matter.
If that will not work either, the school district will report these parents to Child Protective Services for neglecting their children. However, a state Department of Children and Families spokesman stated via Parenting.com that a parent's failure to pay debts is not an example of child abuse or child neglect.
What Parents Can Do
Parents who are struggling with unpaid school lunch bills can try preparing their kids' lunch meals at home instead of buying at school in order to cut costs, according to U.S. News. However, smart shopping and efficient meal preparation are still necessary in order to save money.
