I got a little reminder today about what one squeaky little voice can do.
On Friday, the boys wanted to eat breakfast in school, which they have only done once before. We said fine, but then James and I got our wires crossed and he thought I gave them money even though I had not. Oops! So, when Eric and Ben got off the bus, I asked them what happened when they went to get breakfast. Ben had no problem and was able to type in "his number" and get his beloved waffles. Eric, on the other hand, got through the line, was told he did not have enough money on his account, and had his breakfast taken away from him. Breakfast costs $1.
Needless to say, I was unhappy and called the principal to see why Eric was not allowed to "charge" his breakfast, when I know that kids are allowed to go over their account by a certain amount for lunch. The principal was understanding, but said there is a different rule for breakfast, perhaps because it is not federally mandated the way lunch is. She suggested that I speak with the cafeteria manager to see if we could figure out a plan.
And so I did. I learned that Eric has $.80 in his account. Thus, his breakfast was taken away (and THROWN away, I am sure), and he was sent to class hungry for 20 CENTS!
20 cents.
The cafeteria manager and I discussed the ridiculousness of this rule, and I told her that I would work with her to brainstorm solutions, but that I would not let this drop, even if that meant seeking PTA support, speaking with the school board, whatever.
I got a call from her a couple hours later, and she said she made some calls and learned that in fact they WERE able to "credit" breakfast the same as lunch. Apparently, the rule is that kids can charge up to $10 for lunch and/or breakfast before they are cut off. She assured me that the policy would be changed internally and that kids would no longer be turned away for a low account at breakfast.
Hurray! A great reminder to start the week... Don't be afraid to speak up.
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