School Fined $15,000 for Selling Soda: Acceptable or Outrageous?

by SodaHead Living Posted 2012/05/22 13:00:00

Related Topics: soda, Government, davis high, School, Candy, High School, Student, Fat, Time, Budget Cuts, Budget, Suing

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	Acceptable	124 votes	14%
	Outrageous	765 votes	86%

The federal government is reportedly suing Davis High School in Salt Lake City, Utah for accidentally selling soda to kids during lunch time -- a violation of federal law. The violation is costing the school $0.75 per student (that's about $15,000 total) and forcing it to make budget cuts elsewhere to pay for the offence. Remarkably, some people are upset.

Principal Dee Burton told KUTV, "The rule is vague and open to interpretation. For example, the way the rule reads -- you can buy before lunch starts a carbonated beverage, buy school lunch, sit down in the cafeteria, eat the school lunch and not be in violation ... You can sell Snickers and Milkyway bars because they have nuts and they're nutritious. You can't sell licorice, but you can sell ice-cream ... The misconception is if we don't let kids buy candy and pop, we drive them to the cafeteria, it doesn't drive them to the cafeteria it drives them off campus." Does it sound fair to you?

+40

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CUDDLY BUT STILL CRABBY 2012/05/22 14:20:30

Outrageous

+29
Give a liberal progressive communist an inch, they will try to take several miles.
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More polls by SodaHead Living

Edie 2012/05/24 01:56:10

Acceptable

+1
All you have to do is do the research that tells you what happens to people that drink this poison. One example drop a piece of meat in a coke just leave it overnight take a look at what happens to the meat the next day. Is that what you want for your children.

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Kozmo to Edie 2012/05/24 05:03:16

put some rusted steel nails in the stuff. a day or two the rust's gone, a few day later the nails be too.

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toobored54 to Edie 2012/05/24 05:20:52

+2
I heard if you drink enough of this stuff, your brain gets so screwed up you get this uncontrollable urge to re-elect Obama!!

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Sionann to toobored54 2012/05/24 07:42:29

Crap!! That stuff should be banned from the whole country then!

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Edie to toobored54 2012/05/25 03:53:00

I do not drink anything but juice, water, or milk however, I would not vote for Obama no matter what he promised because that is all it is a PROMISE.

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Everett... to Edie 2012/05/24 05:47:51

+1
So, you're going to rot your stomach and intestines, because you're going to have Coke sitting inside of you, for a whole night! Really? I thought that that was what kidneys were for! As for this thread, those same kids probably have Mountain Dew at home, which is even worse. The next thing we know, is there will be people hired to follow each kid around, 24/7/365, just to make sure they only ingest watercress sandwiches, yes?

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kraftym... to Everett... 2012/05/24 15:19:40

That is sort of what health insurance companies are doing right now. Read up on healthcare databases. When your doctor writes you a prescription, your insurance company keeps a record of whether you get it filled or not. Too much soda really is bad for kids and their behaviors. Schools need to look after our kids' best interests, not take kickbacks from soda and snack companies.

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Edie to kraftym... 2012/05/25 03:54:19

I so agree with you however, some people will make any excuse instead of making the best health choice that is too tough to say no.

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jjclayton1 to Edie 2012/07/25 18:22:23

Did you even read the above posts? We have been discussing the importance if learning vs. indifference. As to your "reply," I want my children to learn to think for themselves and decide what THEY think is best for them. I do not want them to have what should be their personal decisions dictated to them by the government and other people. If you don't like Coke, don't drink it; DO NOT presume you have the right to tell me what I should do or what my children should do. My children are informed and have been taught about nutrition. They are old enough to make their own decisions and can decide what option to take responsibly. In other words, if they decide they want a Coke, they can have a Coke.

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Mike J. Hirak 2012/05/24 01:40:18

Outrageous

+2
Absolutely ridiculous

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ShamshirMkII 2012/05/24 01:19:22

Outrageous

+1
Again with this kind of stupidity....

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Lucy Pannell 2012/05/24 00:51:10

Acceptable

+1
With all of the news reports on childhood obesity this really is in excusable. Even more so the excuse that the kids leave campus to eat fast food is an example of the school not accepting accountability. If they couldn't afford the fine then they should have abided by the policy. You know the old saying...don't write a check your behind can't cash.... IJS

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srini 2012/05/24 00:25:05

Outrageous

+2
The idea of prohibiting sales of junk-food in schools has long been known to be an epic-fail!

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toobored54 to srini 2012/05/24 05:27:42

I remember back in H.S. my history teacher, Mrs. Schwartz went absolutely NUTS when they raised the price of twinkies to 35 cents!!

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locoheaven 2012/05/24 00:05:06

Outrageous

+1
GAH that's stupid

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mikeyllo 2012/05/23 23:44:41

Outrageous

+1
Most schools can't afford that type of fine without impacting the quality of services offered to the students in some other way. Why wouldn't the "government" just request that they correct the issue? Unless it's coming out of the faculties pockets, the only people they're hurting are the students and the tax payers who provide the money that will ultimately be used to pay the fine. Either way the money is governed by some branch of the government anyway. It's like taking money from your right pocket and putting it into your left one and calling it a punishment. It's silly.

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kraftym... to mikeyllo 2012/05/24 15:21:48

The school had been repeatedly warned. The find should come out of administrator's pockets who chose to keep breaking the law, not the school system itself.

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RedRiddingHood 2012/05/23 23:28:04

Outrageous

+2
that's messed up

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xXILoveVinnyBooXx 2012/05/23 23:24:51

Outrageous

Its only soda. What the heck is wrong with soda?!

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Kozmo to xXILove... 2012/05/24 04:54:21

Osteporosis from depletion of calcium.

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kraftym... to xXILove... 2012/05/24 15:22:19

Damage to kidney, helps cause obesity and diabetes...

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xXILove... to kraftym... 2012/05/25 00:37:39

oh o.o

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TortoiseWrath 2012/05/23 23:08:38

Outrageous

If you're going to ban something, ban drinks containing sugar. If you ban carbonated beverages, then that's banning things like Diet Coke, but not milkshakes.

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kage to Tortois... 2012/05/23 23:44:31

+1
most everything has sugar...

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magdalena.nix 2012/05/23 23:02:56

Outrageous

Maybe it was mentioned somewhere online (I haven't found it yet) but I don't see what the deal is. When I was in high school 12 years ago, we had vending machines that did snacks AND sodas. They were high priced snacks and sodas to be sure, but there was no...law I guess that said it was illegal to sell snacks and sodas on school grounds either. Has this become a new law that I haven't heard about before? All that being said, agreed with many other posters, that money just taking away from funding for actual programs the school has...

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kraftym... to magdale... 2012/05/24 15:24:05

It was the time of day. Normally, snacks and sodas are sold after 2:00 p.m. If the stuff is sold during lunch, let's be honest, kids are going to skip on everything except for the junkfood. I may be 50, but I was once a kid too.

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magdale... to kraftym... 2012/08/15 14:40:30

It occurs to me that it may be different for each school/grade level but when I was in high school, they had mid-morning break which was around 9:30 I believe. When I was a child, the afternoon break was around 2 pm. I think if it's for high schoolers, by that point, the high schooler is pretty much going to pick whether to have junk or not. For a elementary school child? Not so much, but then again, a lot of elementary school kids are in a totally different building/location on the grounds than the high schoolers and don't as easily have access to those soda machines in the first place.

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Wm Kabrich 2012/05/23 22:49:57

Outrageous

+3
The government need to stay out of our lives and our kitchens

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Jackie to Wm Kabrich 2012/05/24 00:30:04

Wm, what does that have to do with selling soda at school? Think about it. Soda has nothing to do with school cafeterias! It has been a generation of giving people an inch and they take a mile. Parents don't know when to say "No" so kids demand the same junk at school. it's disgusting to see the soda loaded on grocery carts.

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Pm 2012/05/23 22:32:00

Outrageous

+1
There you have it...The lib attitude taking over every aspect of this country.

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Chi~Cat 2012/05/23 22:19:30

Outrageous

+4
Government is out of control with inane mandates.

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angie45 2012/05/23 22:12:03

Acceptable

+2
acceptable..for they shouldnt be selling soda in school..outrageous for such a huge fine..yet..guess they trying to teach them a lesson...lol

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huttyputt 2012/05/23 22:05:40
trainmanretired 2012/05/23 22:03:03

Acceptable

+1
We don't need soda in the schools, put in milk, Chocolate Milk OJ, fruit drinks, but these kids get enough soda at home I'll bet.

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Call me Mark willya? 2012/05/23 21:53:24

Outrageous

I think soda should be offered alongside healthy drinks with slightly lower prices to encourage the kids to drink them instead. And YES although the school IS a government funded and operated organization, I think it's another case of the government being too big for it'self. They do everything they can to take funding FROM the schools when they should be finding better ways to fund them and better ways to spend the money. This fine is ridiculous and pointless, and the writer is correct if they can't get the junk food ON campus they go OFF campus and so does their money, money that could be helping to buy school supplies for kids that can't afford them, or to pay teachers a decent wage and ensure that they don't have to buy supplies for their own classes. I have a firm belief that Teachers and Nurses are the two most underpaid professions in the country.

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kage to Call me... 2012/05/23 23:48:18

+3
cuz of this new law, funding for our extra curricular activities and school clubs have been cut. no more chamber strings, anime club....:( no more money in schools, the food isn't even decent.

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kraftym... to Call me... 2012/05/24 15:27:20

I appreciate what you're saying and thank you for the compliment. I would rather go on buying my own supplies than allow soda and snack companies to exploit our children and deceive parents.

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Call me... to kraftym... 2012/05/27 21:22:41

Not being able to buy them in school won't stop kids from getting them, it just gives them one more excuse NOT to like school. I think I'd rather see them enforce the rules by simply coming in and having them removed instead of forcing the school to cut music or arts courses. The you're an educator, educate them about the exploitation and and deceit and maybe the kids will rise and say they want them removed. Not likely, but possible...

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kraftym... to Call me... 2012/06/01 17:37:51

I've learned that ANYTHING can happen in a classroom. Have a good weekend!
:)

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lolitalovely 2012/05/23 21:44:29

Acceptable

+1
That's the rules, the school has to follow them.

The rule itself is really stupid.If we can't manage to figure out what we need to do to stay healthy, that's our own problem.

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