School lunch policies have been a touchy subject lately with people discussing the fairness of denying food to students based on their debts. In some cases, students get a stamp of shame, a jelly sandwich, or their lunch trays tossed into the trash.

This time, a New Hampshire cafeteria worker is in the news after being fired for letting a kid run up an $8 tab for his meal. Bonnie Kimball worked at Mascoma Valley Regional High School for almost five years before being let go by Café Services, the vendor for the school.

On March 28, a Café Services district manager was conducting an onsite visit due to their contract being up for renewal with the school district. Employees were being observed as a rival vendor was also present for a scheduled visit.

Everyone was on their p’s and q’s, but Kimball and her co-workers were following instructions from their direct supervisors to “not cause a scene” in the lines about food since they were being monitored. The company’s contract was at stake.

When the student came through the lunch line that day, she rang him up, but his lunch account was short of funds. Kimball told the Valley News:

“When I rang him up, the student didn’t have any money on their account. So, I have a district manager here, my boss has told me ‘Don’t cause any scenes with the contract’ and I quietly said ‘tell (your) mom you need money.’”

Right after that, she said the manager questioned her about what was on the child’s plate. The student’s account was paid off the next day, but Kimball was called into the office and fired.

She said her boss told the team to give food to kids regardless of whether they could pay and let them know they needed to get current. “We weren’t supposed to pull trays.” That conflicted with the district manager’s expectations. Her firing has caused a stir in the community and two of Kimball’s co-workers quit in solidarity.

Kimball received a formal termination letter from human resources:

“On March 28, a District Manager was on-site and witnessed a student coming through the line with multiple food items that you did not charge him for. This is in strict violation of our Cash Handling Procedures, the School Charge Policy and Federal Regulation governing free meals.”

The HR director told the Union Leader that there are certain procedures employees are supposed to follow if a student or staff member can’t pay for their meal. Kimball was in violation. As it stands, she has not been reinstated and is seeking employment elsewhere but still considers the school and its administrators as family.

The school district wound up renewing Café Service’s contract. To hear what school officials had to say about the vendor’s firing of Kimball and their own lunch policy, watch the video below.

Who do you think was in the wrong here? Are you in agreement with the vendor that the worker should have been fired? What would you have done in Kimball’s shoes?