HOT LUNCH SHAMING

A cafeteria employee says she has quit her job over something being called “lunch shaming.” Stacy Koltiska, a former employee at Canon McMillan School District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, says the school is shaming students in an effort to get parents to pay for overdrawn lunch accounts. For grades K-6, the kid’s hot lunch will be replaced by a sandwich if $25 or more is owed to the district for lunches. For older kids, they will receive no lunch if the debt is $25. Koltiska spent two years working in the cafeteria at Wylandville Elementary, but last Thursday, she resigned after she had to take away hot meals from two children. Describing the scene, she says, “His eyes welled up with tears. I’ll never forget his name, the look on his face.” Koltiska says the woman she was working with tried to get her attention before she served the hot lunch to the kids. “But it was too late. He already had his tray,” Koltiska said. She had to take away the chicken and give him a cheese sandwich. Then, Koltiska says, due to other policies, she had to then throw away the hot lunch after taking it away. Superintendent Matthew Daniels says the policy is about collecting money owed, noting that parents are notified weekly of lunch balances. Daniels says before the policy, there were more than 300 families in deficit. As of last Friday, that number has gone down to 66. Where as once there was $60,000 to $100,000 owed annually, now, it’s down to less than $20,000 outstanding.
* Still $20,000 outstanding? Sounds like the superintendent has to ramp up the shaming. How about magic marker on the kids’ foreheads – “I Have Deadbeat Parents”?
* Sure, the kid’s eyes welled up with tears. That was the sting from the cafeteria fumes.
* I mean, come on – a school lunch worth crying over? Are you kidding me?
* If only there was a saying … something about there being no free lunch.
* Although Stacy Koltiska could have had the kid’s hot lunch for free, but NO, she had to follow the rules and THROW IT AWAY!
* I have a feeling “shaming” is now going to be attached to every other word out there.
* Wait, that was hyperbole shaming.
* This will help get the kids prepare for owing thousands in student loans.