# Way to go Wyoming Valley West (Pa.) School District! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 19, 2019, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315 "2019-07-19T18:42:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/21 "2019-07-20T17:13:42Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You notice I said I was against removing kids? Apparently not. > > So who are you expecting to pay for these lunches? And what do you propose – just let the kids go hungry? Please sir, can I have some more? ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/22 "2019-07-20T19:52:18Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I saw you said that. So why do you keep asking this question like it’s relevant? > > It’s not. > > That said, I’ll answer it, because I know how this works: > > 1. The school nutrition program may have majorly fallen down on the job of distributing free/reduced lunch applications. The combination of the massive debt they’ve built up and their outrageous “we’ll take your children if you’re too poor” attitude makes me think this is likely. They should be far more proactive in getting those apps out and ensuring that people know how to fill them out. > 2. Some parents still won’t fill out the form, or may not qualify but also won’t pay. They should reach out to these parents early. They may have done so. > 3. If parents don’t pay, referring them to a collections agency is a less-than-ideal approach, but doesn’t involve committing mail fraud. > 4. If they can’t collect, funds come out of the district’s operating budget. > 5. This is a really easy fundraising ask. Reach out to local houses of worship first. > > It’s not like these fools are the first folks to encounter this problem. They’re just the first (AFAIK) to hit on this particularly egregious “solution.” It’s also possible that the powers that be encourage children to ring up ala carte items like extra cookies and ice cream on their account and then the parents are responsible. And while it’s certainly on the parents to set boundaries for the kid’s spending, I know the automatic system my son’s school uses doesn’t let me see an itemized list of his charges–so I don’t know really know where the money is going. I didn’t know he COULD buy ala carte items until he mentioned casually one day he’d had an extra cookie. We certainly didn’t have that option in Kinder. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/23 "2019-07-20T20:29:24Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > And what do you propose – just let the kids go hungry? > > Please sir, can I have some more? Excellent point. Why don’t you send them $450 to cover one of those most in arrears? We know from your post that you are righteosly indignant. Now is the moment for you to pony up some cash and peckerslap us that you are no mere poseur. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/24 "2019-07-20T20:31:07Z")
I’m surprised there are this many posters who can’t tell the difference between filing a lawsuit to take kids from homes and sending a letter threatening to file a lawsuit to take kids from homes. Can y’all stop acting like anyone went to court? Or that there’s any actual intention to do so? It’s as if you don’t understand what an empty threat is. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/25 "2019-07-20T20:55:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A lot of school districts around here have opened up the income-based free-lunch program to all students, regardless of need. Why did they do that? Because it turns out that it’s actually cheaper to do it that way. Most of the money going into the free-lunch program wasn’t actually going towards food; it was going towards bureaucracy to determine who was allowed to get food. Cut the bureaucracy, and you can feed _everyone_ for less than you were spending to feed a small fraction. > > Which doesn’t, of course, stop people from complaining about all that money “wasted” by giving it to everyone. Rather analogous to the economics of universal health care, and some of the regressive and ignorant attitudes against it. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/26 "2019-07-20T21:05:41Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I’m surprised there are this many posters who can’t tell the difference between filing a lawsuit to take kids from homes and sending a letter threatening to file a lawsuit to take kids from homes. > > Can y’all stop acting like anyone went to court? Or that there’s any actual intention to do so? > > It’s as if you don’t understand what an empty threat is. It’s as if you don’t understand what idiocy is. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/27 "2019-07-20T21:06:30Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > It’s also possible that the powers that be encourage children to ring up ala carte items like extra cookies and ice cream on their account and then the parents are responsible. That’s possible, but if that’s what it is, it’s 100% on them, IMO. I know those are moneymaking schemes, but allowing a child to charge an item without explicit parent opt-in seems to me a type of unenforceable legal contract. Our school has those a la carte items, but a kid whose account is more than like $10 in arrears can’t get them, can only get a regular lunch. (I don’t remember the exact amount). This should be a trivial policy change to make. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/28 "2019-07-20T21:07:43Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > I’m surprised there are this many posters who can’t tell the difference between filing a lawsuit to take kids from homes and sending a letter threatening to file a lawsuit to take kids from homes. > > Can y’all stop acting like anyone went to court? Or that there’s any actual intention to do so? > > It’s as if you don’t understand what an empty threat is. Who the fuck are you talking about? The irony in your acting like others lack understanding is too rich to bear. I know what an empty threat is. When you threaten someone falsely in the hope that they’ll believe your misinformation and give you money, there’s a name for that. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/29 "2019-07-20T21:13:50Z")
I don’t understand this from the OP’s article: > [@](#): > > The district underwrote free lunches for four elementary and middle schools during the 2018-19 year, and WNEP-TV said school officials suspect some parents did not pay their lunch bills as a form of protest. They’re not paying for their kids’ food because they’re unhappy that the district spent money on other kids’ food? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/30 "2019-07-20T21:38:38Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I’m a 57 year old white guy with zero kids and I don’t make a large amount of money, but I’m more than happy to pay sufficient taxes to feed all of the school children a decent meal. Hell, give them breakfast too while we’re at it. > > Without trying to figure out and correct all of the possible reasons - or assigning blame - as to why they’re not being provided by the parents. > > Let’s knock off all this judgmental hand-wringing about how bad the parents must be and just do the right thing here. Kidless, and yet I pay school tax/assessments because it is part of the social contract. > [@Guinastasia](#): > > And what do you propose – just let the kids go hungry? > > Please sir, can I have some more? For some kids, it may be the most nutritious meal they actually manage to get in a day, the poor very frequently live in food deserts and subsist on convenience foods, and cheaper foods. When I did the USDA thing for US Foodservice, we provided real foods, not just frozen pizza, nuggets and prepackaged puddings. The schools and other institutions I handled also had a budget for fresh fruit and veggies, and certain things like canned tomato sauce and frozen or canned vegetables and fruits. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/31 "2019-07-20T21:45:48Z")
Is it possible word got out they weren’t chasing poor families who fell in arrears, so like the ‘not so poor’ families felt left out and wanted their share? And that’s how this maybe got to where it is? Now the school is between a rock and a hard place, a no win position really. Just saying there could be more to this than it seems. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/32 "2019-07-20T22:58:19Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > I don’t understand this from the OP’s article: > > They’re not paying for their kids’ food because they’re unhappy that the district spent money on other kids’ food? Not so much that the district spent money on other kids’ food - more “ if they don’t have to pay , I’m not gonna pay” Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/33 "2019-07-20T23:10:40Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Is it possible word got out they weren’t chasing poor families who fell in arrears, so like the ‘not so poor’ families felt left out and wanted their share? And that’s how this maybe got to where it is? Now the school is between a rock and a hard place, a no win position really. > > Just saying there could be more to this than it seems. There could be more to it. But absent crazy hypotheticals, there is no excuse for lying about the law in order to intimidate parents. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/34 "2019-07-21T12:03:43Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > That’s possible, but if that’s what it is, it’s 100% on them, IMO. I know those are moneymaking schemes, but allowing a child to charge an item without explicit parent opt-in seems to me a type of unenforceable legal contract. > > Our school has those a la carte items, but a kid whose account is more than like $10 in arrears can’t get them, can only get a regular lunch. (I don’t remember the exact amount). > > This should be a trivial policy change to make. For sure. My point is that I wouldn’t put it past a district to extend credit to students to spend to raise funds, and then go after the parents for the deficit. It’s totally unethical. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/35 "2019-07-21T12:27:51Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I understand the outrage about taking kids away for unpaid bills. GOOD, because that’s what the outrage is _about_. Let me spell it out really clearly: **taking my kid away would be the worst thing you could do to me.** And of course, _it would be even worse for him._ _Threatening_ to do that over a relatively trivial debt is **beyond the fucking pale**. Frankly, it ought to be a felony to do so, absent evidence that the child needed to be protected/rescued from his/her own parents. (You can probably guess how I feel about our border policies.) Sure, find a way to collect the damn money. But that can surely be done without threatening to take people’s kids away from them. Your JAQ is bullshit, and has about as much to do with what this thread is about as Jeff Bezos does. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/36 "2019-07-21T13:59:35Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You notice I said I was against removing kids? Apparently not. > > So who are you expecting to pay for these lunches? Imagine someone said “I don’t support locking children in cages, but how are we supposed to enforce immigration laws?” What would that mean? By asking such a question, you defend the act. I mean, there are obviously several other answers. How do you get the money? Well, most states get it from the free lunch programs, sponsored by the federal and state governments. Some will take money from elsewhere in the budge and run fundraisers. Tax raising is often a thing, where going up a few 10ths of a cent is enough to fix the problem. Those who owe money are often turned over to collectors, if it really is an issue of them withholding rather than not being able to afford it. There are plenty of answers, so it would be really weird if you were asking that question legitimately. Same as there are multiple ways to enforce immigration without child cages. Dude, don’t act like your namesake. You’ve said it was an unfortunate coincidence. So don’t JAQ off. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/37 "2019-07-21T17:17:41Z")
Nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/38 "2019-07-21T18:24:35Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Let me spell it out really clearly: **taking my kid away would be the worst thing you could do to me.** And of course, _it would be even worse for him._ Probably a good thing I don’t have kids, because if someone threatened to take my kid away over a small dollar amount like this, I’d be swearing vengeance against that person until the ends of the Earth. Legal retribution first… Eternal harassment and letting everyone they ever work with until the end of time know what kind of shit bag they are second. ---
**Author:** ![Covfefe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ee7513/32.png) [@Covfefe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covfefe)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/39 "2019-07-21T19:24:09Z")
Maybe it’s a persuasion technique, like the kind _Dilbert_ creator Scott Adams is always touting. This official knows there is nothing he can do to force his will on every parent and recoup all the money in short order. With only a tiny effort the persuasion technique veiled as a rhetorical threat inserted into the letter might convince 40-60% to quickly pay what they owe. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315/40 "2019-07-21T20:07:24Z")
> [@Covfefe](#): > > Maybe it’s a persuasion technique, like the kind _Dilbert_ creator Scott Adams is always touting. This official knows there is nothing he can do to force his will on every parent and recoup all the money in short order. With only a tiny effort the persuasion technique veiled as a rhetorical threat inserted into the letter might convince 40-60% to quickly pay what they owe. I’m pretty sure that’s called **coercion**. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/way-to-go-wyoming-valley-west-pa-school-district/837315.md?page=3)