Salt Lake City elementary school snatches lunches from children throws them away for having no money in their accounts.

Courtesy of The Salt Lake Tribune:  

Up to 40 kids at Uintah Elementary in Salt Lake City picked up their lunches Tuesday, then watched as the meals were taken and thrown away because of outstanding balances on their accounts — a move that shocked and angered parents. 

"It was pretty traumatic and humiliating," said Erica Lukes, whose 11-year-old daughter had her cafeteria lunch taken from her as she stood in line Tuesday at Uintah Elementary School, 1571 E. 1300 South. 

Lukes said as far as she knew, she was all paid up. "I think it’s despicable," she said. "These are young children that shouldn’t be punished or humiliated for something the parents obviously need to clear up." 

Jason Olsen, a Salt Lake City District spokesman, said the district’s child-nutrition department became aware that Uintah had a large number of students who owed money for lunches. 

As a result, the child-nutrition manager visited the school and decided to withhold lunches to deal with the issue, he said. 

But cafeteria workers weren’t able to see which children owed money until they had already received lunches, Olsen explained. 

The workers then took those lunches from the students and threw them away, he said, because once food is served to one student it can’t be served to another. 

Children whose lunches were taken were given milk and fruit instead.

I can in no way find away to justify what these workers did to these children.

To snatch the food right out of their hands, in front of their peers, is abusive behavior and if I were a parent of a child it had happened to I would be demanding that the person be fired immediately.

Some of you may remember the story of the principal of the charter school who lost her  job for standing up for children who were marked with a stamp as a message to their parents that their lunch accounts were empty.

What is happening to the country that adults believe that it is okay to embarrass and humiliate, not to mentions starve, children like this?

Is this the result of teachers being vilified and conservatives attacking public education at every opportunity? Or is it something else?

I swear I just don't get it.

Elementary school principal says she was fired for demanding that cafeteria workers stop humiliating students whose lunch accounts were empty.

Courtesy of the Daily Camera: 

Former Peak to Peak elementary principal Noelle Roni said Sunday she was fired by the Lafayette charter school after she demanded that cafeteria workers stop stamping the hands of children – including those who qualified for the free lunch program – when their lunch accounts were empty. 

“As soon as I saw it happening, I was like, ‘No, this is not OK,'” she told the Daily Camera. “The students felt so humiliated, like they had done something wrong. They didn't want to go into the lunchroom any more. It's unethical and disrespectful.” 

Roni's comments, more than two months after her ouster, mark the first time she has addressed the events that she alleges led to her termination. Previously, Roni only had said she was let go in retaliation for "standing up for children's rights and against activities that stigmatized children." 

When asked Sunday about Roni's allegations, Peak to Peak's board of directors said in a written statement that they can't comment on personnel issues, but that “Peak to Peak does not condone or tolerate unlawful retaliation.”

Yeah how dare this professional educator stand up for the children in her school!

What does she think she is some advocate for children or something?

When I worked in public schools no student went hungry. If they did not have the money for lunch, one of us, quite often it was me, would pay of their lunch.

And the cafeteria worker would notify the office if it happened more than once, and they would send a sealed note home with the child, or call the parents to let them know.

I don't know how it is in charter schools, but I can tell you that in my school if anybody had attempted to stamp a child's hand to mark them as unable to pay for lunch they would have been reprimanded by the principal, who absolutely could have counted on being backed up by Carol Comeau our school Superintendent.

This woman deserves to be praised, not punished for taking a stand for her kids.