SELINSGROVE -- A mother says her 12-year-old son was denied lunch by Selinsgrove Middle School cafeteria workers this week because he didn't have enough money in his account.
"My son was not even offered a peanut butter sandwich," said Lisa Gaugler, of Port Trevorton. "How can anyone look at a hungry child and tell them, 'No food today for you'?"
Her son sat at a lunch table, without food, with his friends. One friend offered him a chip because he felt bad for him, she said.
Gaugler said her son had carried his tray of food to the cashier, who then informed him that his account was low, and he needed to find $1.54 in order to have lunch that day.
He had money in his account, just not enough to cover the full meal, the cafeteria worker said.
The cashier then took his meal and threw it away, the boy said.
"A lot of times, it could be the parents' problem (for not putting money on the account), and the child should not be punished by not having anything to eat," Gaugler said.
That night, Gaugler said she received a recorded message on her phone from the school, telling her to be sure her student's lunch account was up to date. The account requires the parents to write a check to the school. Each student has a specific lunch number.
By that time, it was too late, she said. Her son had already gone all day without eating because he didn't have breakfast, either. By the time he got off the bus at the end of the day, he was starting to feel ill.
A new lunch policy at the middle school began Monday.
"From the start of school up until about March, we feed them no matter what," said Kevin Oswald, director of food services. "As it's getting toward the end of the school year, we've had lots of students at the secondary level who owed substantial amounts."
Elementary students are fed, regardless of payment account status, he said.
Oswald said he was surprised to hear about the complaint, and wondered why he was not contacted by the parent.
"We've covered all the bases," Oswald said.
The announcement in the policy change was included in the middle school students' progress reports and posted online. A full week's notice was given, Oswald said. Announcements were also made every day at the school to alert the students that this was going to happen, so it wasn't a surprise to anybody, Oswald said.
Students were told that if they did not have cash or money in their account, they could either call a parent or borrow money from a friend, and they would certainly be able to eat, Oswald said.
"We were feeling very good about this," Oswald said. "The parents and kids have done a great job (in following through)."
Gaugler said she did not hear about it until the night her son came home and told her he had his lunch taken away.
"No letters were mailed to our home telling us that this new policy was enacted," she said. "Before, in the good old days, if your account was overdrawn, you could still eat and make up the amount due the next day.
"There are some people who work in the cafeteria and don't agree with this, but they had their orders," Gaugler said.
Said Oswald: "It's hard for me to picture that we threw the meal away."
Depending on what it is, anything reusable and sanitary is not tossed, he said. However, once a tray is passed to the student, the law says that the food should be thrown away because of health concerns.
Seven times of not paying for a meal and then being denied is understandable, Gaugler said.
But this was the first time, she said.
Federal regulations state that if a student doesn't have money three different times in a school year to pay for lunch, they can be denied a meal, Oswald said.
"We go well beyond that," he said.
The lunch service in the school district is a separate fund, not part of the general fund and not supported by local taxes, Oswald said.
"We're trying to be understanding," he said, especially in the economic downturn. "We're running a food service business, and we need lunch sales to pay our bills."
For the next school year, he said, a parent will be able to go online and check their student's account balance and purchase activity.
Superintendent Frederick Johnson declined to comment until he can research the issue. He did confirm that he received the complaint and forwarded it to Oswald.
Eric Rowe, school board president, did not respond to a phone message left at his workplace Wednesday.
n E-mail comments to tpursell@dailyitem.com
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