[MD Expat in PA]

My school district mandates that, after three incidents in a row, kitchen supervisors take away that child’s hot lunch and replace it with a slice of cheese on a bun.

Are they taking away an already prepared hot lunch and throwing it in the trash and handing the kid a cold cheese sandwich instead? If that’s the case, it seems a bit wasteful not to mention a bit unfair to the kid. Go after the parent(s)/gaurdian for getting behind on paying for the lunches but don’t punish the kid.

But I do not agree that the answer is to provide tax payer funded free lunches for every child. I also think that rules against brown bagging are beyond stupid.

[Conscience of a Conservative]

“But I do not agree that the answer is to provide tax payer funded free lunches for every child. I also think that rules against brown bagging are beyond stupid. “

I think the rules against brown bagging are actually the key issue here. Once the school prohibits parents from sending lunch with their kids, policies like this school’s cheese sandwich policy become almost extortion. The school is essentially saying, “You can’t send your child with lunch, so either pay us money, or we will feed your child a terrible, wholly inadequate lunch.”