Ohio lunch lady says she was fired for giving food to children who couldn't pay

WXYZ Detriot ^ | 16th April 2017 | Jay Warren

[Ennis85]

WILMINGTON, Ohio -- For 14 years, Debbie Solsman worked as a beloved lunch lady at Denver Place Elementary School in Wilmington, Ohio.

She was fired by the district in February, and her supporters raised an angry social media storm.

When a child doesn't have money for lunch, Solsman said they're given a cheese sandwich. She said she would upgrade the lunch for those without money, or give them extra food if they were still hungry.

"If they didn't have enough money in their account, they would get a cheese sandwich instead ... The other kids knew when they walked out into the cafeteria why they got the cheese sandwich," she said.

Solsman said she would also hear stories of food insecurity.

"There were children that got a free lunch that would come back and say, 'Miss Debbie, I'm still hungry' ... And you don't know how many times I heard they didn't have supper that night."

Solsman said she kept notes of IOUs and paid out of her own pocket for students, but the district suspended and terminated her this February for "not keeping track of her register and providing food to her grandchildren without payment."

She admitted to giving her grandchildren extra food, but said it wasn't just them.

"I broke the rule," Solsman said. "I'm the one that broke the rule, it's not the district, and I really want everybody to know that my 14 years that I was there, Wilmington City Schools were good to me ... But in my heart, when that child tells me they're hungry, do I believe them or just say, 'No, you don't need any more today?' How do you determine the difference between that?"

[yldstrk]

just feed everybody. It’s not that hard and it’s not that expensive. The teacher’s ridiculous salaries are the big expense

[who knows what evil?]

I love the concept of ‘fund raisers’ for schools...they already extort more than they need from the taxpayers, but that doesn’t stop them from tugging at the heartstrings of the gullible.

[DaveA37]

“I rather doubt she was costing the district anything given than school cafeterias probably can’t know to the last bite how much food will be needed.”.........

“Will be needed”? People have no idea how much food is thrown out after that lunch has been served. Many of the kitchen workers take some of that food home themselves. There IS a lot of waste in school lunch programs and what some kids get for free is miniscule.

[Vaduz]

Call parents YOUR kid is hungry.

[mountn man]

Frankly if I were feeling generous I’d do it with my own money rather than someone else’s. Though her taxes went into these lunches no doubt.

I agree with paying out of ones own pocket.

As far as her taxes paying into it...

She's a school lunch lady.

Let's say she makes $12 an hour.
Normally that's 24k a year.
This is a school. Summers off. Winter break. Spring break.
She works what? 8 months a year? That's $16k

BUT being a school, she probably gets paid for the whole year. Let's use $24k.

Using single filing, the standard deduction and 1 personal exemption. That leaves a taxable income of $13,650.
She'll pay $1584 in federal income tax.

You can argue that her taxes go to pay for the school lunches that she gives away. But the amount she pays in federal income taxes doesn't even cover her share of what the government spends on her behalf.

[EC Washington]

Wilmington, Ohio is were DHL laid off 11,000 workers in 2009-2010. The town has never recovered. There are some dirt poor families and kids in Wilmington. It is really sad to drive through the town. They had hope that Amazon was going to move there, but Kasich screwed up the deal and Amazon moved to CVG in Northern KY. There is no doubt this lady sees some very poor hungry kids at her school.

[mountn man]

But as you already know, I’m incredibly immature for 49 :)

An endearing and annoying trait at the same time.

I'll agree with the annoying part.
I'm doubtful of the other ;)

[TalBlack]

At one time people who couldn’t feed and or otherwise support their children couldn’t take them home from the hospital after they were born. Then “liberal compassion” became the norm and a problem is created that the liberals want to “solve” with more of their God-damned and Christ forsaking liberalism.

[GingisK]

Every school system has provisions to provide lunches for students who can’t afford them. She chose to do this herself, out of channel. That messes up the bookkeeping, where some other employee’s heads are on the chopping block.

[bigbob]

Can’t have her doing that. That’s governments job /s

[impimp]

You think she pays taxes?

[impimp]

I do have a problem feeding hungry children. Free food from the government feeds the belly that day but weakens the child’s character.

[mountn man]

I love the concept of ‘fund raisers’ for schools...they already extort more than they need from the taxpayers, but that doesn’t stop them from tugging at the heartstrings of the gullible.

I read a story a couple of years ago, probably here on FR.

Parents of a high school boys baseball team, privately raised funds for bleachers, for the boys baseball field.

They were delivered and installed.

But then removed.

Seems the parents of the girls softball team, complained that the girls softball field didn't have the same bleachers as the boys baseball field.
Because of title IX, the boys field bleachers, paid for by the boys parents, had to be removed.

Never underestimate the power of stupidity when it comes to government spending and "it's for the children"

[mountn man]

People have no idea how much food is thrown out after that lunch has been served. Many of the kitchen workers take some of that food home themselves. There IS a lot of waste in school lunch programs and what some kids get for free is miniscule.

Then AFTER lunch is served, the leftover food should be stored in the fridge. When a hungry child with no money needs food, there'd be leftovers for them.

[Paulie]

Here’s an idea:

Why not give those kids the food, but with the understanding they work for it before or during or after school? That will satisfy the bleeding hearts and at the same time teach these kids the work ethic, and that nothing is free.

Then haul the mother in to answer why her child is not being taken care of properly. Plenty of options even if there’s no money. Criminal charges or taking the child away may be in order.

[Nevadan]

Re: A lot of food gets thrown out at the end of the day, I have no problem feeding hungry

That is exactly what happens. It seems to me more outrageous that the school district would rather throw it away than feed hungry children.

[OftheOhio]

Well said EC. Kasich is toast, he just doesn’t know it. You can bet Obama didn’t want the media to promote this website. I have to thank my own rural local paper editor for this. Food Insecurity in the United States. http://map.feedingamerica.org/

[Paulie]

“Americans hate the idea of something for nothing.””

Maybe that’s because Americans aren’t communists.

I suggest you learn the laws of nature (authored by none other than God Almighty), and understand there is no such reality as ‘something for nothing’.

[Mopp4]

BUT being a school, she probably gets paid for the whole year. Let's use $24k.

My wife is a lunch lady and she does not get paid for the full year. We have to make-do in the summer without her paycheck.

[IDontLikeToPayTaxes]

Any restaurant, cafeteria, or food service operation has extremely strict food accountability.

Yes it seems silly that giving a kid a bit of extra food is no big deal, but it almost always spirals out of control and the cost of food loss bankrupts the place.