Recently, parents of kids at the Richmond R-XVI School District in Richmond, Missouri were upset to learn that kids who bring their lunches from home were being excluded from the district’s “Frozen Friday” ice cream incentive program.
The incentives were geared toward selling students on the district’s in-house lunch program by offering ice cream deserts for only $1 if they purchased school lunches or got signed up for free and/or discounted meals.
Parents learned of the new program from a letter sent to their homes. But the letter angered some as it also informed them that kids who brown-bag their lunches were to be excluded from buying the $1 frozen treats.
“It just made me really upset, mad, disappointed in our school district,” one mother told Kansas City’s Fox 4 on Wednesday. “It irritated me that they weren’t giving a fair opportunity to everybody.”
Superintendent Dr. Mike Aytes apologized to parents saying that the whole idea was meant to increase lunchroom sales but said it may have been misguided.
“It’s unfortunate,” Dr. Aytes told the TV station “Good people were well-intended, probably made some mistakes in what went out, and it didn’t get the proper level of review, and we are taking the steps needed to make that right.”
The superintendent reversed the policy and now all children will be able to purchase the ice cream snacks on Fridays.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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