Collection agency hired to collect school lunch fees

[apples and oranges]

NAHUNTA,, GA (WTVM) - It's one way to get your money back. Businesses often hire collection agencies to do just that, but schools?

One Georgia school system is getting tough on parents who don't pay their kids' lunch fees.

Officials with the Brantley County School System hired a collection agency to get the money for them.

Leaders say they hated to take it there, but the system is $20,000 in the red because of unpaid cafeteria fees.

Parents do have the option of working out a payment plan.

**a 40 pecent late fee will be added to the amount owed.**

:eyes:

http://www.ajc.com/news/agency-to-collect-unpaid-494310.html

[kiva]

1. Do you have the link?

I'd like to read the whole article - thanks.

[apples and oranges]

3. yes

http://www.ajc.com/news/agency-to-collect-unpaid-494310.html

[mzteris]

2. hope they track better than mine

I keep getting "notices" about unpaid fees for three years! My kid has never, and will never, eat the "school lunch"... Maybe when he gets to middle/highschool he will 'cause they at least have vegetarian options. Though whether they're healthy or not remains to be seen.

I finally called the downtown office a few weeks ago and got it straightened out - they also informed me that they will be implementing vegetarian choices in the elementary schools next year. Too late for us, but it's a good thing.

[elias7]

4. There've been so many cuts, they have to get all they can somehow.

It's tough thing to have to do, but there's nothing wrong with collecting what you're owed. I don't think cafeteria fees are very high at all.

[Warpy]

5. They served kids from deadbeat families here American cheese

between two slices of balloon bread. The uproar was incredible, but the whole thing caused wealthy families to pay and identified poor kids whose families had been too proud to ask for help with school lunches. While it was tough on a few kids for a couple of weeks as they ate cold sandwiches while watching other kids eat a hot meal, the whole thing worked really well in both recouping lost funds and increasing enrollment into the free school lunch program.

No child went hungry in the process.

Still, you'd think they'd been waterboarding the kiddies if you'd read the national reaction to it.

Somehow, I think it probably worked a hell of a lot better than hiring a bill collector to dun families. People can dig their heels in and get really stubborn when they're being dunned.