Rhode Island school district turns student lunch debt over to collection agency

A school district in Rhode Island has hired a collection agency to recover thousands of dollars in student lunch debt.

Raymond Votto Jr., chief operating officer of Cranston Public Schools, told parents in a letter that the district has hired Transworld Systems to recover the debt starting in 2019, according to NBC 10 News.

Votto said that the district has written off over $95,000 in student lunch debt between September 2016 and the end of the last academic year, and has tried to collect outstanding bills “without much success.”

{mosads}This year, the district has already seen an unpaid balance of $45,859.

“The District lunch program cannot continue to lose revenue,” Votto told NBC 10.

The collection agency will be contacting parents by mail, sending letters to those with balances of over $20 that have not been paid within 60 days.

Lunches in the district cost $2.50 per day for elementary school students, and $3.25 for middle and high school students. Those with outstanding balances will still receive the same meals as other children, according to Votto.

“We’re feeding the children. That’s not in dispute,” he told NBC 10, adding that the district also offers free breakfast.