Meal Debt Collection - Part 5

Be sure to listen to and watch the 8/25/2022 Special-Called Board Meeting at   https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10592883/videos/232666961

What Richland 2 has is a progressive superintendent who believes "equity" is providing free meals for all, and he intends to find a way to implement it.

Not only was last night's meeting about collecting old debt, it was the beginning of Free Meals for All.

Progressive doesn't just mean looking forward. It has a particular meaning of liberal, for all, "equity". And don't forget diversity and inclusion.

https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10592883/videos/232666961

This must be controlled by the board, but it will take the new board to rein him in.

Chair Manning thinks a Pay-for-Meals student should be able to run up a $100 bill. I think not. If the student and his parent(s) can't/won't pay $4/day for a meal, how are they going to pay off a $100 charge balance? And stay current on meals wanted by the kid?

You've got to catch it sooner. 

I'll tell you what the "hardship" is for most parents. $100-150 monthly cable bills. $150/month cell phone bills. That extra $100-150/month for the insurance for the kid's car. Alll those must-have video games. The iPhone. The AppleWatch.

Stop the special deals, payment plans, and other garbage. Nip it in the bud. All the District is doing is enabling bad habits that will mushroom in the future.

Meal Debt Collection - Part 4

Should the Richland Two Educational Foundation bail out the District on the meal debt?

The only answer should be a resounding NO.

The Mission of the Foundation is to "encourage and support excellence in Richland School District Two by enhancing educational opportunities for students, fostering community involvement, and providing resources that promote success in the district."

Forking over money to the school district for its poor oversight of the growing debt is not a responsibility of the Foundation.

The directors of the Foundation are listed here. Let them know how you feel abut this.

Meal Debt Collection - Part 3

CFO Will Anderson gave an interesting presentation about the meal debt accounts.

You can watch it on https://livestream.com/richland2/events/10592883/videos/232666961, starting at "6:00". 

First of all, notice Supt. Davis' introduction. He could have just said, "Will Anderson will lead off our discussion. Mr. Anderson." 

Instead, as usual, Davis took a deep breath and away he went.

Anderson set the stage for use of the General Fund to spring for over $4,000,000 in meal costs to feed all Richland 2 students.  

Davis had alluded to General Fund use for Meal Debt at the August 23 board meeting. No Way!

Taxpayers don't pay taxes to the school district to feed students who can pay for their own meals. 

The USDA has guidelines for Free and Reduced-Price lunches. If you don't qualify for free or reduced, then you pay.

If you spend your lunch money on other things, you go hungry.

It is NOT the District's responsibility to feed this last group of students - those who do not qualify for free or reduced-price lunches.

Responsible trustees (three of them) can keep that from happening, when the motion is made on September 13th, by walking out and preventing a vote. 

Meal Debt Collection - Part 2

Why I walked out at 6:30PM?

I got fed up several times during the meeting, which started at 5:30PM, when the superintendent took a deep breath and then talked and talked and talked. And Chairman Manning let him. And no board member called a "Point of Order".

Davis had already apologized on Tuesday night for the District's error in putting out a message that meals would be thrown away. Why did he go on and on and on about it again. The trustees had already heard it. 

But what really got me was the discussion about a Meal Debt Account set up by the Richland Two Educational Foundation. A question came up whether a person or business making a donation could designate his donation to apply to the account of a particular school

For example, could graduates of Spring Valley High School donate to reduce or clear the meal account debt of Spring Valley students?

When Supt. Davis said they could not because that would not be "equity", I stood up and walk out in disgust!

He said a donation would have to applied to the total meal debt account of the District. He didn't ask the trustees what they thought. 

I am not the only one in the District who is sick and tired of hearing about "equity". 

Meal Debt Collection - Part 1

The school board held a special-called meeting last night on the Meal Debt Collection topic.

It was a waste of everyone's time.

Trustee Agostini asked how high the debt was. There was no specific answer. Maybe $100,000.

She asked how many students owed money. No specific answer.

Aren't those the first two reports that should have been run Wednesday morning, after the special-called meeting was announced at the regular board meeting the night before.

What did not make sense to me:

The District is worried about a $100,000 debt, and a trustee-elect who owes $57,100 to the S.C. Ethics Commission is one of the decision-makers???

The $100,000 debt includes money owed from previous years. So the District spends about $2,500 to assemble the trustees for the first meeting.

How many $80,000/year administrators will be spending time to resolve a $100,000 debt, most of which is likely uncollectable?

This is why voters had better elect some school board members in November with common sense and business experience!