Lunch Money

Back to school is full of emotions. Happy to see old friends. Sad at the prospect of school work or getting up early. Never thought sticker shock would be one of them. My kids usually eat lunch at school. I'm a single parent with a full time job that often requires me to work late. So, I don't have time to worry about preparing lunch. This can get expensive. This year more than ever. My son goes to high school. His lunch went from $1.75 to $2.25. My two daughters elementary school lunch went from $1.65 to $2.00. That's insane! It's gone up before but usually like 10 to 15 cent and I wasn't happy then. That's a buck forty more per day, 7 more per week and between 28 and 35 dollars a month. Not only did the lunches go up but at my daughters school they have done away with charging. So, if I forget to buy them lunch tickets they will be fed peanut butter or cheese crackers with milk or juice to drink. Where in the past they would eat lunch and I would repay the school the next day. Many times when they didn't have tickets it was an accounting error by the school.Where is this money going? Didn't we just have a budget surplus? Why can't some of this money go directly to school districts to help with things like this and school supplies. The supply list get longer every year and they ask for more after Christmas. How about the "education lottery"? Why does all that money have to go to scholarships? Why can't we improve our public schools as well?