KINGSTON, Pa. (AP) — Parents in Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County’s Wyoming Valley West School District were warned that their children could end up in foster care if parents don’t pay their overdue school lunch bills.
The school district sent letters sent out to about 1,000 parents, prompting a wave of complaints from parents and earning school officials a harsh reprimand from local child protection services.
The district says that more than $20,000 are owed for school lunches that have gone unpaid. District officials claim that other methods to collect the unpaid fees from parents have been unsuccessful.
Child Protection officials called the school district’s bluff by telling parent that children are not going to be sent to foster care over their parents’ nonpayment for school lunches.
School district officials say they will send out a less threatening letter next week in another attempt to collect the debt.
