School district to hire collection agency for overdue lunch money

Feb. 27—Columbus (Ohio) schools plan to hire a collection agency to go after parents of nearly 6,000 students in an attempt to recover $900,000 in unpaid lunch money. The district plans to turn over accounts where families owe more than $50 for lunches, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

If parents still don’t pay up, the district plans to notify credit rating agencies, the Board of Education said.

The average amount owed, among families who owe more than $50, is around $150, but some parents owe more than $400, said District Food Services Director Joe Brown. About 90 percent of the parents in the district who are behind on lunch payments, though, owe less than $50.