Columbus schools are using a collection agency to help them recover delinquent lunch payments totaling
roughly $900,000.
The Columbus Dispatch reports the schools are owed lunch money for nearly 6,000 students. Accounts that owe more than $50 for lunches since 2009 will be turned over for collection late next month.
Most families owe just a few dollars. About 10 percent of the families that owe lunch money account for about 80 percent of the total owed, and that's the group that's being targeted.
The district's food services director says among those accounts, the average debt is about $150 but can top $400.
School board members had urged district officials to crack down on those who weren't paying and didn't apply for free lunches available for low-income families.