Food for Thought: What to Do About Unpaid School Lunches

I just read an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune about how the largest school district in the state of Minnesota is planning on hiring a collection agency to help them retrieve $160,000 (from families owing $100 or more) for unpaid school breakfasts and lunches.

If you think this district’s struggle is an isolated big-city issue, think again. The national School Nutrition Association indicated in its “State of School Nutrition report 2014” that over 70 percent of districts had unpaid meal debt in their school nutrition program at the end of the 2012-2013 school year (averaging about $2000 per district).

Not only is the problem widespread, it’s also growing. The Anoka-Hennepin School District, the one featured in the article, is concerned because there is debt accumulating in the middle schools at levels higher than currently seen for high school seniors who’ve had their entire school career to amass their debt. In the 2011-2012 to 2012-2013 school years, the districts meal debt increased 6 percent. Between 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years the debt skyrocketed 61 percent and increased again from the 2013-2014 school year to the 2014-2015 by 48 percent.

With increases like the ones seen above, it’s easy to see why school districts across the country feeling the pain of these (and other) unpaid student debts are done hitting their heads against the wall and are turning to the experts—debt collectors—for help.

The article explained that the Anoka-Hennepin school district doesn’t have a contract with a collection agency yet and said they will offer families a payment plan before sending them to collections. “There needs to be at least some good-faith effort,” said school board Chairman Tom Heidemann.

“If the case is you don’t even respond to us, we know that you’re not going to help out with the situation,” said Noah Atlas, the district’s child nutrition program director. “We don’t feel there’s any other recourse at this point.”

The thing is, the school district needs to understand whether it’s an ability to pay problem or a willingness to pay issue. Like health care providers and other businesses, they do not want to involve a collection agency if they don’t have to.  If you owe an outstanding debt to your school district, ignoring pleas for payment will not make the debt go away and it may likely be sent to collections.  Communication is key. If you are having financial difficulties know you’re not alone. I know it may be uncomfortable to make that initial contact, but most creditors once they realize you are making an effort to pay will be happy to work with you to set up a payment arrangement you both can agree upon. And it will feel great to have the debt taken care of instead of hanging over your head. 

According to the Star Tribune article, there is no standardized way school districts handle debt from unpaid lunches and policies vary around the country.  District officials at Anoka-Hennepin decided not to involve the kids. “We are trying to keep this adult-to-adult,” said Atlas. “We don’t turn students away from the meal.”

The Minnesota Department of Education wrote in a 2014 memo that price-reduced or paid meals must be available to eligible children if they have money in hand, but they also added that a school “may take legal action against a household which has not settled its food service debt.” 

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners.  Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

Time is Money When it Comes to Effective Revenue Recovery!

“Do not put off until tomorrow what can be put off till day-after-tomorrow just as well.” –Mark Twain

Do you procrastinate? Ok, you don’t have to answer that. I will for you. Of course you do. We all do. I certainly know I do. Just ask my wife about the paint job for our master bath! And the drippy kitchen sink. And the weeds in the lawn…well, you know.

Yet, isn’t it a great feeling to finally face that not so fun task that has been on your ‘do’ list for months, complete it and cross it off? The reward of a feeling of accomplishment—a job well done—is terrific. Of course it is usually followed by the realization that had we simply done it sooner the building stress that comes from putting things off would have gone away much sooner and in its place we could have been doing things which we find much more pleasant.

There are lots of definitions for procrastination, none of them particular complimentary to us who do. I am partial to Twain’s quote, but let’s face it that won’t feed the bulldog!

Generally speaking, procrastination is when we substitute one activity we prefer for one we do not. As a result the one we like gets done fast while the other, perhaps even more important task, is moved farther and farther away. Like blog posting when the sales forecast is due! And there are certainly no limits to the distractions we all have right here on our desktop.

To maximize the effectiveness of revenue recovery and delinquent account collections procrastination can be costly. There is an old saw in the business which goes: “The older they are the farther they go.” There is much to that, and may impact your recovery rates dramatically if you are not able to manage your delinquent placements on a timely basis.

We realize delinquent account recovery is a serious business, but sometimes it is easier to believe if the accounts just sit there sooner or later the debtor will pay directly without third party intervention. The fact of the matter is that even with the most optimistic perspective that does not happen very often. There is a direct and inverse proportion between age of an account and prompt debt collection.

So what do you do?

• If the elephant is big, just take one bite. Even if it is just a single account send it on! That takes one more thing off your desk and starts our process of recovery right away.
• Prioritize your day and make those less desirable tasks something you handle first thing. That way, you have a fresh perspective and fewer interruptions as the day goes on.
• First things first: Keep a manageable and organized task list. When our ‘do’ lists get too big or too detailed it is easy to get disorganized, discouraged and distracted. Review your list early in the day and rework your daily priorities focusing on the top three to maximize your use of time.
• Make sure your delinquent accounts are turned over as soon as possible. The sooner we get them, the sooner we start the process and the higher probability you will receive timely collection of your debt.
• Things don’t change unless you recognize there is a problem. If your priorities keep getting pushed off for the next day, take a close look at how you use your time. Are there unnecessary distractions which get in the way of tackling the hard ones?
• Reward yourself when a task you don’t like is done! There is nothing wrong with patting yourself on the back when you get something done, especially if it is a task you were not looking forward to handling. Take a break, or spend a few minutes on those other more pleasant tasks which would have normally been distracting you.

At A. Alliance we strive to make your interactions with us as easy and straightforward as possible. In an increasingly complex world, keeping things simple is a goal we strive for every day. Can we help? Let us know. We are here to serve you.

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners.  Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.

Building a True Team

True teamwork is exhilarating, and is one of the most productive human activities.   Every business wants to harness the incredible energy from true teamwork.  However, achieving such a level of motivation and team spirit is never easy.

A real team is made up of diverse individuals who may be unequal in experience, talent, or education, but who are equal in their commitment to working together to achieve for the well-being of the organization, each other and their customers.

To be successful, we can no longer look at our organizations as departments, divisions, or branch offices. We must look at the bigger picture and resolve to work together in ways we may never have done before.

Studies have shown individuals of ‘average’ intelligence, when working as a team, test at “genius” level.  In some ways a true team “becomes a genius when everyone works together.”  In most cases, when a team is working at optimal performance, it is hard to know who the leader is. In other words, the team runs the team.  This is so vital for the survival of a business today, particularly when a team’s leader ‘goes down’. 

Such teamwork doesn’t happen by accident. It requires commitment and effort, a willingness to accept the uniqueness of others, and an appreciation of diversity. More than ever, managers and executives need to build responsible and committed team members if they want the best performance from them. But how do they go about it?  We build teams in our companies the same way we build relationships with our friends and coworkers. Trust in one another is of utmost importance.  A true team will perform optimally at ‘The Speed of Trust’.  Management must also obtain a commitment from each individual to achieve the goals set forth. Each individual on the team must be ‘all in’.  Encouragement from one another is the grease that will keep the wheels turning. 

Management should keep all team members happy.  But how do they do this?  Provide all the ‘big picture’ information to the team.  Some team members will require extra time to filter this much information however, they will have an appreciation of precisely how they, as individuals, fit into the company plans.  Additionally, give them lots of positive feedback. This can be a simple email note, a phone call or voicemail, or just a simple pat on the back. Encourage each team member and the entire team. Praise!  Praise!  Praise!

Building a real team gets real results, but it can’t be done with slogans and speeches.  You must recognize everyone who uses innovation to find ideas to save money or improve productivity. Start by respecting each person’s individual contribution, showing appreciation, exciting them about their possibilities for achievement.  Demonstrate you trust the team by sharing information.  Keep the team happy by encouraging their efforts, and require the team members to commit openly to achieve the goals set forth. 

GO TEAM!

A. Alliance Collection Agency, Inc. is a full service, licensed accounts receivable management and debt collection agency providing highly effective, customized one on one management and recovery solutions for our business partners.  Founded in northern Illinois in 2005, we have been proudly improving the bottom-line on behalf of our business partners in and around Chicagoland for over 10 years.