In NJ we pay over $14,000 per child to educate our children which is why it's incredibly aggravating to hear stories like this.
Bergen County parents are floored by a new school lunch policy. Their children were forced to eat their lunch on the floor.(via)
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The cafeteria holds around 300, some outside picnic tables are provided, and seniors can leave for lunch. But parents and some students were quick to speak out to school leadership against hundreds left to floor dining -- and got nowhere.
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Even the local health department decries eating on the floor. In a letter they sent to the school, they call the practice, "very unsanitary." Yet in order for Mahwah High School to lengthen its teaching time, they opted to push all 1,000 students through a single, 43-minute lunch period.
"This allows teachers to go into greater depth in their discussions," Superintendent Montesano said.
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Since our interview, the school says it forbids the floor dining, opting instead for gym bleachers and other seating.
It's stories like this that reinforce my decision to opt out of public education. Notice that the parents wishes are ignored. In private school these concerns would have been addressed promptly. Here mismanagement is tolerated and there's not much a parent can do to make sure the system is changed.
This is yet another example of the need for school choice. When the school district is doing a good job then people will want to send their children there but if the schools in a particular district are mismanaged then it's in the best interest of the community to introduce competition to provide the children with an education that is worth the amount being paid by the tax payers.
