Don't Have Lunch Money? A Pennsylvania School District Threatens Foster Care
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Dozens of families in Pennsylvania received an alarming letter from their public school district this month informing parents that if their kid's lunch debt was not settled, their child could be removed from their home and placed in foster care.
Wyoming Valley West School District, one of the poorest districts in the state as measured by per-pupil spending, is located in a former coal mining community in Northeastern Pennsylvania, known affectionately by locals as "The Valley."
When officials there noticed that families owed the district around $22,000 in breakfast and lunch debt, they tried to get their money back.
"By mail, email, robo calls, personal calls and letters," said Joseph Mazur, the president of the district's board of education.
But, Mazur said, nothing worked.
That's when district officials sent out the now-infamous letter to about 40 families deemed to be the worst offenders in having overdue cafeteria bills — those were children with meal debt of $10 or more.
"Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without a breakfast and/or lunch," said the letter signed by Joseph Muth, director of federal programs for the Wyoming Valley West School District. "This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition and you can be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child's right to food. If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care."
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Wow!
He has a point there because failing to feed your children is neglect but I'm not sure taking the kids away and putting them in foster care is the answer
I'm kinda reading this the wrong way, but, the parents aren't denying the child's right to food - the school district is by refusing to provide what is legally available.
Also, they "probably" don't have a legal leg to stand on as the lunch programs are a Fed program.
Feeding the Future with Healthy School Lunches
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day . The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.
Which makes no sense. Why would they care who pays the bill, so long as it gets paid?
Apparently Mr. Mazur wants to teach someone a lesson.
one has to wonder how much they have spent on these collection efforts...
Mazur was the one who refused Carmichael's offer.
Thanks for clearing that confusion up.
What a monstrous asshole Mazur is.
What a dick!
There is still some hope.
That is something I think we all can agree on.
So on average, the average student is $4.35 in arrears on food money,
and per the article, 40 students are the scofflaws with over $10.00 in arrears.
Wow. Can't put them in foster care? Can't lock them up? Put a lien on their parents homes...
smh.
I find the back story kind of fascinating.
The previous County Manager has been job hopping, and not necessarily for more money until this month.
Meanwhile he was replaced by the County Solicitor after a bitter fight among the County Board members, many of whom objected to the lawyer's ( C David Pedri ) total lack of experience, and new salary of $120,000.00. Pedri has since received two 2% raises and was pushing for more under a new contract in September 2018.
Luzerne County PA was instrumental in tipping PA's electoral votes to the Trump column in 2016.
It's both curious and somewhat admirable that the local papers (almost) never identify the subjects of their stories as
Democrats or Republicans.
Just saying....
Feeding the Future with Healthy School Lunches
The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day . The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.
Did you have a problem when First Lady Michelle Obama advocated for healthy school lunches?
While I fully support the schools efforts to recover what they are owed, I don't believe this action would get any traction in the legal world or with CPS
No child in this country should be denied a simple meal at school, they should just allow parental donations and outside donations to cover the cost of food and never ask a child for money like they were outside school in a private setting. The profit motive is so ingrained that we are punishing children who have no control over their own parents or what level of income they were born into.
Take the money that removing a child from a home would cost and purchase food staples for that family instead.