NH High School Employee Fired After Giving Student Lunch
Mascoma Valley Regional High School located in Canaan, NH, west of the White Mountains area has found themselves in the middle of controversy due to one of their lunchroom employees.
Bonnie Kimball has worked in the cafeteria of the small high school for 4 and a half years and after allowing a student to take $8 worth of food despite the fact that they had no money, she was let go.
The incident occurred when a student accumulated $8 worth of items from the a la carte menu. Kimball did not draw attention to the student, rather, quietly telling him to have his mother add funds to his lunch account to take care of the meal. The next day the balance was paid in full.
Kimball told the Union Leader that how she handled the situation was the protocol given to her by her manager the month prior. "We weren't supposed to pull trays," said Kimball.
Kimball is not a direct employee of the school rather, Cafe Services who are contracted by the school. Cafe Services' contract was renewed with the school for another year, a contract worth more than $560,000.
Chairman of the school board, Cookie Hebert, stated "The policy is that the student be fed," noting, "There's no refusal." However, Hebert understood the 'no refusal' policy as restricting students to only the lunch of the day and not the a la carte items, which is what Kimball allowed the student to take.
Ultimately, Cafe Services determined the $8 lunch tab was theft on Kimball's part.