Legal Tender
There has to be more to this story. Twenty-nine eighth grade students were given two-day suspensions each because they paid for their lunch. Seriously. I guess everyone needs to be on free or reduced lunch programs these days.
Sure, they paid with pennies, but the last time I looked, pennies are legal tender.
Readington Township school officials gave 29 students detention after they used pennies to pay for their $2 lunches.
I am a strict teacher and parent, but I would blow my top if my child was in trouble for legally paying for a meal. There better be a board-approved policy on the books prohibiting this.
Just the other day I shared with my students how I once paid for an anorak with $15 in nickels. Do we not want students to be creative? I applaud these youngsters.
Unbelievable!
Also blogged on this date . . .
- Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Two - 2008
- Subliminal - 2008
- What Am I Listening to Now? - 2008
- Alone - 2007
- Fred Thompson - 2007
- Budget Meetings with the Governor - 2006
- The Public's Expectation of Education - 2006
- Who is your favorite baseball player of all time? - 2005
- Dead in Atlanta - 1992
Tags: Education
By Bull Moose on Mar 3, 2008
Based on your previous post about toll booths, maybe we should just be happy the kids could count to 200.
By Bob on Mar 4, 2008
The superintendent of the district stepped in and rescinded the punishments. Apparently, 29 students paid with pennies as a protest to having their lunch period shortened.
I attended a boarding school. Tired of cold fried eggs every morning, our entire school, save a few heretics, protested. We did not attend breakfast. That earned us demerits, which we had to work off on the weekend.
We did the time and the school changed the meal program to add variety to the menu.
I have no problem with the actions of these students as reported.
By Zoooma on Apr 1, 2008
I don’t know the exact phrasing here but Police departments have a wording they can use to arrest you for whatever, maybe disturbing the peace. So you might not be breaking any specific laws but they use that to put you in handcuffs, perhaps slam your head against the car if they don’t like you, and haul you to county lockup.
Anyway, there was no crime in using pennies so I think the initial outrage at the kids using them could almost be filed under creating a public nuisance or disturbing the peace.
In paying for lunch with pennies they held up the lunch line causing students to not have enough time to buy and eat their lunch, not to mention all the rather ticked off students who are used to getting in and out when here they were having to stand around waiting… because some students decided to use pennies.
Protest is good, and pennies are indeed perfectly acceptable Legal Tender, but protesting can still get you arrested (or in trouble) even when you don’t really go breaking any real laws.