Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A US high school lunch (file image)
A US school district has banned students who have more than $75 (£58) in lunch debt from attending the prom and other extra-curricular activities.
The school board president of Cherry Hill in New Jersey said the plan struck a "balance of compassion" while "holding people accountable".
A businessman said he would settle the debts but the board rejected his offer.
The prom ban was brought in after previous measures taken by the district were condemned as "lunch-shaming".
In August, Cherry Hill had announced that students behind on payments would only be given tuna sandwiches rather than a full meal.
Following a public outcry, the board withdrew the policy, replacing it with the ban on indebted students taking part in extra-curricular activities.
The district has 19 schools with a total of about 11,350 students, of whom about 20% are eligible for reduced-price or free meals, The Inquirer reports.
A meal at Cherry Hill costs $3, rising to $3.10 for high school students.
Steve Ravitz, who runs a Cherry Hill supermarket chain, posted on Facebook earlier in September that he would be "happy to solve this issue".
But a later post from Mr Ravitz said: "I understand that the board has decided to NOT accept any significant donation to help with the 'lunch' issue. Strange."
Eric Goodwin, the school board president, said a one-time charitable donation would not help families address underlying problems, the Courier Post reports.
"Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed," he told the Inquirer.
sburnham26 on October 23rd, 2019 at 17:04 UTC »
This is a pretty wealthy area of NJ. I live 20 minutes from here and grew up there when I was a child. Although there are definitely outliers, I'm sure most of these families can afford to have their kids eat, and the kids or parents are being lazy or think they can get away with not paying the debt.
I'd think this would be wrong if it were 15 minutes down the street from Cherry Hill in Camden, which is the 2nd (?) most dangerous city in the U.S., but Cherry Hill is different.
melarusesays on October 23rd, 2019 at 13:02 UTC »
Not specific to this story but one thing I have seen in California is that middle and high have free lunch but also have pay options. You can get snacks and better juices and things like nachos. But if you can't afford lunch, you get regular cafeteria food and milk. I'm curious as these stories keep popping up how many are just parents who don't know how to fill out low income food paperwork and how many are kids buying extras and parents refusing to pay. I've seen both in real life so I'm curious on the details.
Mikeymike2785 on October 23rd, 2019 at 12:50 UTC »
“ A businessman said he would settle the debts but the board rejected his offer.”
Ok you know what? Fuck that school system!!!!
“Steve Ravitz, who runs a Cherry Hill supermarket chain, posted on Facebook earlier in September that he would be "happy to solve this issue".
“ Eric Goodwin, the school board president, said a one-time charitable donation would not help families address underlying problems, the Courier Post reports. "Simply erasing the debt does not address the many families with financial means who have just chosen not to pay what is owed," he told the Inquirer”