District cracking down on school lunch debts
Collection agency hired to recoup moneyBy ANDREW POTTER, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
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Fact Box
How the collection agency works
The collection agency PSD Receivables based in Alabama will be in charge of tracking down more than $25,000 in past due school meal fees in the Marshalltown Community School District. The company will first auto dial homes via the phone with families who owe money and then send letters.
Ann Feilmann, food service director with the school district, said the company will give people several different payment options and plans.
PSD will not report parents to credit bureaus or assess additional fees or interest to the parents' accounts. As its fee for doing business, the agency will keep between 30 to 35 percent of what it gets from area families in past due money.
- Andrew Potter
Those who owe the Marshalltown Community School District lunch money may be hearing from a collection agency soon.
The Board of Education approved a proposal Monday by district Food Service Director Ann Feilmann to hire an agency to collect past due money on school meal accounts.
The district will seek to recoup the $25,900 that is owed to it by families who have not paid their meal bills. The collection service - PSD Receivables - will take over and keep 30 to 35 percent of what it is able to get from area families.
"I'm hoping that we see a little more response," Feilmann said.
She said the negative balance jumped from $12,500 to $25,900 in the past four years and this last year about $6,000 meal debts were racked up by children.
"One family has three or four kids and owes $1,700," Feilmann said.
She said those who owe money have had letters sent home and also they have tried calling the homes. The board talked about the possibility of if a student owes money to try to prevent them from getting lunch, but they agreed students need to eat.
"Denying lunch is, I don't think, an option," said Board President Pam Swarts.
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Contact Andrew Potter at 641-753-6611 or apotter@timesrepublican.com
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herkeye
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06-18-09 6:00 PM
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and Hinter....if you want to talk dumb. You obviously had not been paying for your kid's lunches for some time....did you think he/she was paying for them? Would you rather they did not feed your kid? And since you would have paid for them anyway and your kid was obviously eating....why would you have a problem with that? They may have had poor communication but you surely have enough common sense to know that you have to send money to the school to pay for the lunches evey so often. Sounds like you may have some budgeting problems.
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herkeye
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06-18-09 5:46 PM
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Hinter....are you kidding me. It is Deadbeat Parents here.....I will be all the weiners in the school's freezer on that one. And AA may have a point....we will know that as soon as ALL the names are put in the paper for the rest of us to see. I have a feeling a lot of the last names will have Z's in them.
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hinterlands
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06-18-09 11:15 AM
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and apparently "S-u-c-k" will be censored in Iowa!
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hinterlands
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06-18-09 11:14 AM
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before we all jump to conclusions about the deadbeatness of the families you have to consider HOW the kids got the free lunches. My kids school in Colorado was allowing SEVEN YEAR OLDS to get food on CREDIT by using their "student number" in the lunch line. They told ALL the kids about it but NEVER told us parents that this was going on UNTIL they wanted to collect. to which we said, 'You gave a SEVEN YEAR OLD credit?! I know 30 y/o's that can't handle credit!' I think if the district is DUMB enough to give credit to CHILDREN then they can*****the DEBT they brought on THEMSELVES!
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manofewwords
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06-18-09 9:48 AM
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I won't get much sympathy from the concession workers when they see my less than skinny stomach....but that's a different topic altogether. :(
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AverageAmerican
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06-17-09 10:38 PM
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"The negative balance jumped from $12,500 to $25,900 in the past four years" ...along with illegal immigrant enrollment. What a surprise. Give the offenders beans.
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herkeye
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06-17-09 8:43 PM
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Mano....I would say no to your question. However, it does appear that you could go to the concession stand and order food without paying for it. I'll go with you and we can tell them to just add it to the school lunch debt. After all, it would not be right to let us watch a game on an empty stomach according to Pam Swarts.
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manofewwords
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06-17-09 2:19 PM
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The debt never should have been allowed to get so high. The board of education has a fiduciary responsibility to the school district and tax payers to see that this does not happen. Is it okay if I show up to the next athletic event and not pay for my ticket?
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higherground
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06-17-09 1:26 PM
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I second herkeye's idea to "put ALL their names in the paper". Think about it- if these parents are unable to pay, they have a problem; and if they refuse to pay, they ARE the problem. As a public service to the kids affected by this situation and to those of us who care for their well-being, I IMPLORE the T-R to acquire a list of the parents involved from the Food Service Director and publish it in the T-R. You pretty much have to get to the root of a problem before you can start exploring solutions.
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FapFap
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06-17-09 1:08 PM
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Why not over-ffed the kids so they get fat and the parents have to speend more than they owe now for new clothes. Brilliant!
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MtownGuy
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06-17-09 12:37 PM
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"What if they offered a reduced fee first?" They already do.... it is called the Free and Reduced Lunch program. But, I do know from personal experience in working in the school system that many of the deadbeats are parents who do not qualify for the reduced costs. They can afford the school lunches but choose to ignore the notices that go home with the kids. And they are too lazy to send their kids to school with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple. Hey - if you can't afford to provide your children with lunch every day, then maybe you just can't afford to have a family. Making babies is the easy part - feeding them takes a little more effort.
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Johnny
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06-17-09 11:55 AM
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This all started when we stopped publicly flogging people to death! Dang it! Ohh for the good ol' days... Let em eat cake.
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bertmers
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06-17-09 11:33 AM
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Are there no qualified collection agency's in Iowa???? I thought the slogan was shop at home. That 30-35% that could be 'spent' at home. Economic times are really hard right now, but don't add insult to injury.
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herkeye
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06-17-09 9:32 AM
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They don't need to eat....they NEED to tell their parents to pay their lunch bill so they can eat. These sre called deadbeat parents....when they put their needs ahead of their kids....I bet they don't go without smokes or beer! I bet they have cell phones! They need to be publicly shamed...put ALL their names in the paper and post them in all city owned public places. If this does not work...turn off their water and show them you mean business!
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David59
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06-17-09 6:57 AM
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From now on make it simple , No Money No Lunch.
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higherground
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06-17-09 12:31 AM
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I'm keeping my head down on this one until I can get some idea which way the bullets are flying!
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