Mayor Bloomberg has recently called upon parents to pay outstanding school lunch debts. Maybe we should start with the parents of students at PS 276. The school is owed $21,902 for lunches eaten between September and November. One parent said, "The school is broke. They have to collect that lunch money."
85% of the students qualify for reduced-price lunches, which make each meal just a quarter. Full priced lunches are $1.50. The school also lost $266,125 this year in budget cuts, and Principal Jonathan Straughn was removed from the school in November after being found guilty of manhandling a student. Teachers say they hope acting principal Yasmine Fidelia will do a better job collecting, but maybe it's time for parents to show some initiative and cough up the lunch money—unless they want to find Fidelia waiting for them at the bike racks.
