A 3rd grader at Gardendale Elementary School in Gardendale, Alabama was recently sent home with a stamp on his arm reading, “I Need Lunch Money.” The message was intended for his parents, who are outraged the school didn’t alert them to the issue in a more discreet way.
Nez Calhoun, director of public information for Jefferson County Schools, told ThinkProgress that stamps of that sort are “pretty standard across the district.”
“They get a stamp to notify the parents,” Calhoun said. “We’ll call, write letters — whichever way — but all children get stamps when [their accounts] are at zero dollars to get awareness up.”
The 8-year-old’s father, Jon Bivens, told ThinkProgress that his son actually still had $1.38 left in his account when he was sent home with the stamp during the last week of the school year. Calhoun acknowledged a “software glitch” might’ve resulted in a mix-up. That aside, Bivens is stunned the district didn’t use a different means to get in touch.
“I can’t think of one logical reason why anyone would stamp on a note on a child’s arm,” he said. “We have so much technology and multiple ways to communicate.”
The story was first reported by AL.com. Bivens told that publication he initially thought the stamp said something along the lines of “good job” and only understood the real message upon a second look.
“I personally had never heard of [the stamping policy] before my son came home with it,” Bivens told ThinkProgress. “My biggest focus was the fact that the schools herd these kids like cattle. Stamping notes onto their arms is just one step closer to school becoming an assembly line.”
Gardendale Principal Laura Ware didn’t immediately return a voicemail seeking comment. But Calhoun described the stamping policy as part of a necessary effort to make sure the district is controlling costs.
House Republicans Want To Cut Free School Lunch ProgramsHealth by CREDIT: AP Photos House lawmakers are quietly fighting to roll back a section of a 2010 school nutrition bill…thinkprogress.orgCalhoun expressed regret that Bivens didn’t first bring his concerns to Principal Ware. Instead, as he acknowledges, he contacted an AL.com reporter.
“It is extremely unfortunate that this happened to that student,” Calhoun said. “I feel for the parent, but we didn’t know anything about it until we saw the story in the paper.”
Students with insufficient funds in their account to cover lunch are given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple to eat, Calhoun said. For more information about the district’s lunch policies, she directed ThinkProgress to the Jefferson County Schools’ Child Nutrition Director, who didn’t immediately respond to a voicemail seeking comment.
Bivens’ experience isn’t unique — in recent years, schools in different parts of the country have thrown out meals after they’ve already been served because students’ accounts were short. Districts in a handful of major cities have taken the opposite approach and utilize a federal program that provides a free breakfast, lunch, and snack every school day. But House Republicans have recently been pushing for cuts to funding for subsidized school meals.