Va. Beach schools clamp down on unpaid lunch bills

http://hamptonroads.com/2014/08/va-beach-schools-clamp-down-unpaid-lunch-bills

Va. Beach schools clamp down on unpaid lunch bills
By Mary Beth Cleavelin
The Virginian-Pilot
© August 16, 2014

VIRGINIA BEACH

Lunchtime in the city's public schools has had officials struggling with a tougher decision than white milk or chocolate.

No student is denied lunch if he or she doesn't have the money that day. But some parents can't - or won't - repay for the food. Each meal - $2.50 apiece this year - adds up.

No one wants children to go hungry. But the division has been eating $70,000 a year in unpaid lunch bills. That gnaws at the self-supporting cafeterias' bottom line, affects the costs for everyone else and puts school officials in a spot.

They've decided to get tougher this year. A new policy has them sending overdue lunch accounts of $20 or more to the city's Delinquent Collections office, which will go as far as court judgments, wage garnishments and liens against tax refunds and lottery winnings to seize the arrears.