REVERSAL

Pennsylvania School District Will Now Accept Donations to Pay Off Student Meal Debt After Foster-Care Threat

Wyoming Valley West School District reversed course after sparking an uproar by threatening to place children in foster care over unpaid cafeteria debt.

A Pennsylvania public school district that came under fire across the nation after it threatened to place children in foster care over unpaid cafeteria debt has now said it will accept donations to pay off the debt after first apparently rejecting such offers. The Wyoming Valley West School District made headlines after warning parents in a letter that, if their child’s meal debt wasn’t settled, it could result in them “being taken from your home and placed in foster care.” At least five donors then volunteered to settle the $22,000 debt accrued by dozens of students, including Todd Carmichael, the founder and CEO of Philadelphia’s La Colombe Coffee, who told NPR his offer was “rejected” when he contacted the district’s school board. By Wednesday evening, however, the school district had reversed course. Michael Plaksin, president of the Wyoming Valley West Educational Foundation, was quoted by the Associated Press saying a decision to accept donations had been made during a meeting with members of the school board. “What is going on is that the school will be able to accept money, donations, so that we will be able to pay off the program as soon as possible,” Plaskin said.