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DICKINSON, TX (KTRK) -- A 12-year-old Dickinson student's breakfast was tossed in the trash, because his account was short by just 30 cents. His mother is upset, so we went to the school district to ask questions about their policy -- one they say they stand by.

Jennifer Castilleja had to make an extra trip to her son's middle school in Dickinson Wednesday morning.

She said, "My son called me and asked me if I could bring him some money because they took his breakfast from him and he needed money for breakfast."

Her son, a sixth grader at Barber Middle School in Dickinson ISD is on reduced meals. He pays for his meals from an account that his mother deposits money into, but it was empty.

"I said, 'Well, I'm on my way, I'll pay for it,'" Castilleja recalled. "And she said no, I would have to bring some money before he could have breakfast."

The reduced breakfast only cost 30 cents, but the cafeteria server went ahead and threw the boy's breakfast away and sent him to class.

Castilleja said, "There were kids all around him. I think he may have been a little embarrassed and upset and, of course, hungry."

We spoke with Dickinson ISD and they said it's a policy they stand by.

"Dickinson ISD's procedure is that we do not allow student charges for breakfast. Many school districts follow this same procedure. Students get verbal warnings to let parents know once the account starts getting low. Written warnings are sent home to parents before money runs out."

Castilleja admits either her son forgot to relay the verbal warning or she forgot to replenish his account. Either way, she feels the policy should allow for breakfast charges that can be repaid.

"Or telling the child, we are going to feed you, but go to the office and call your parent and let them know that you need money," Castilleja suggested. "Anything than sending them to class hungry." http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=9316051]

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Lunch denied to some Attleboro students

ATTLEBORO — As many as 25 students at Coelho Middle School were denied meals or told to throw their lunches away Tuesday because they could not pay or their pre-paid accounts did not contain enough money, school officials said today.

Parents said some of the children cried after they were not allowed to eat or had to toss out their lunches.

School officials said an on-site employee from Whitson’s, the school system’s school lunch provider, apparently gave the order not to extend meals to students who could not pay.

Superintendent Pia Durkin said a procedure that has been used in the past when students can not pay is to provide a cheese sandwich and milk until parents resolve their unpaid bills. She said that has apparently not been followed at Coelho.

Parents said they were told by their children that some pupils in the cafeteria line had already picked up their lunch and were told at the checkout they had to throw it away.

Victoria Greaves, 11, a fifth grader at Coelho, said a cashier told her to throw away her lunch because there was not enough money in her account. She said she threw her meal away and got nothing to eat.

Greaves said “about 20” other pupils also were denied meals.

School Principal Andrew Boles said he learned of the problem late Tuesday afternoon when contacted by a parent. Boles said he is “appalled and concerned” that Whitson’s did not inform him of the action in advance.

“They did not respect me, they did not respect my students and they did not respect their parents,” he said. http://www.thesunchronicle.com/news/local_news/lunch-denied-to-some-at
tleboro-students/article_1baa66c8-9c85-11e2-a9a0-0019bb2963f4.html]

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Fox guest and supposed school counselor Thomas Kersting told Gretchen Carlson on Fox & Friends that it’s perfectly acceptable for a school to let a child go hungry as a consequence of the mistakes made by their parents.

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“I agree with the superintendent. I think it’s a little harsh. You know, I don’t think they’re going to throw the food out right in front of the kid and embarrass the kid… I think it is misleading that the kids are going to be punished. We have more food than any other nation. You know, no kid is going to starve. You know, if one day a kid doesn’t have lunch, right, maybe that’s a teaching moment when that kid doesn’t have lunch. That may sound harsh saying that, but we’ve got to get people to start being responsible for themselves. I can tell you from almost 20 years working in a school district, they’re not going to make the kids starve. That’s just kind of like a big warning to the parents. http://www.peacock-panache.com/2013/09/fox-guest-hungry-students-being
-denied.html]

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Limbaugh, who once gladly accepted government welfare himself, went on a rant about school meal programs during the school year that “condition [children] to not feed themselves.” According to Limbaugh, getting used to being fed by schools turns children who would otherwise starve into “wanton waifs and serfs dependent on the state.” “If you feed them, if you feed the children, three square meals a day during the school year, how can you expect them to feed themselves in the summer?” he asked. http://mikethemadbiologist.com/2011/12/19/rush-limbaughs-factiness-abo
ut-school-meals/

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