LETTER: Free lunch at the Clark County School District

In response to the recent letter to the editor regarding free school lunches: It may be true that 70 percent of Clark County School District students are provided lunch. But that does not mean that 70 percent of district students need free school lunches. And that is a very important distinction.

My oldest son has been able to received free school lunch at Silverado High School since the day he started. As a matter of fact, my son cannot pay for the lunches provided by the school. They don’t even know how to accept payment. We have never requested that he receive free lunch. It is just the policy that everybody at Silverado gets free lunch. This was done so students who do need assistance are not stigmatized. But now that policy is being exploited.

Statements such as “70 percent of district students rely on free school lunch” are inaccurate and misleading. It should read “70 percent of district students have access to free lunch.”

I am all for providing for students who are in need. But don’t lock down a campus forcing kids to eat at school, provide the lunch for them and then tell me that my kid wouldn’t be able to eat had he not received a free lunch at school.