Children threatened with banishment to foster care system over school lunch debt

The absolutely insanity of our educational system here in the United States must be addressed, and soon.

Thanks to all of the cliches surrounding education, “children are the future” and what have you, we have become desensitized to just how important this investment in knowledge truly is.  We are forgetting that, as civilization advances, our problems will become more advanced as well.  We are already beginning to experience this, thanks to the ever-evolving world of cyber crime and the like.

And while continuing education may not be for everyone, it is still important the we all learn to seek knowledge throughout our lives.  This is the lesson that we learn in the early years of our public education, where a great teacher can mean the difference between a life of innovation and a life of stagnation.

Furthermore, going to school shouldn’t be any more stressful to our children than it need be.  We should want our kids to want to go to school.

That is why the following story is just so disturbing.

A Pennsylvania school district is under fire for sending letters to parents in which they threatened the possible placement of their children in foster care over unpaid school lunch debt.

Wyoming Valley West School District on July 9, shared on social media and obtained by WBRE, stated that if the district did not receive a balance of $75.25, the parents could “be sent to Dependency Court for neglecting your child’s right to food.” It went on to read, “If you are taken to Dependency court, the result may be your child being removed from your home and placed in foster care.”

“Your child has been sent to school every day without money and without breakfast and/or lunch. This is a failure to provide your child with proper nutrition,” the letter, signed by Joseph Muth, director of federal programs for the Wyoming Valley West School District, read in part. “Please remit payment as soon as possible to avoid being reported to the proper authorities.”

The backlash over the letter was swift and vicious, with concerned parents taking to social media to spread the news.

Within hours, a manager for the county in which the school district was located issued a plea for a retraction from the school.