Florida district: Pay up if you want to leave campus for lunch

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Fork over your lunch money, kid.

That’s what Seabreeze High School is telling students, though not just in the cafeteria — students who want to leave campus for lunch are asked to pay a $20 fee annually. Principal Bob Wallace said the school changed the rules this year to discourage students from sneaking out, but some parents and students say they feel it’s a cheap move.

Until this year, Seabreeze students had to earn a 3.0 grade-point average, come to class regularly and stay out of trouble in order to leave for lunch. With fast food restaurants to the north and the Bellair Plaza to the south, off-campus dining options are plentiful for Seabreeze students. A local church even feeds Seabreeze students for $3 once per week, and provides transportation from the school.

Yet the 40-minute lunch period was a vexing time for Wallace and his staff. Students who weren’t supposed to leave tried everything from jumping fences to hiding in cars.

“It was a safety issue and it took a lot of manpower for us to control that,” Wallace said.