School lunch debt is sending families to collections

School lunch debt is sending families to collections

Every August and September, just as kids shoulder their backpacks and file onto school buses, a familiar kind of headline makes the local news. “Retired police officer pays off district lunch debt.” “Couple uses wedding gifts to clear cafeteria balances.” “Sword enthusiast sells stock to help wipe out arrears.” They appear like clockwork, one per county, a seasonal ritual of generosity right alongside the other local-news reliables: the scratch-…