食堂大妈因给穷学生打了免费的午饭而被开除 [美国媒体]

Lunch lady fired for giving free lunch to hungry student

食堂大妈因给穷学生打了份免费的午饭而被开除



POCATELLO — Last week, Dalene Bowden, a food service worker at Irving Middle School, was placed on leave after she gave a free hot lunch to a 12-year-old girl who said she was hungry and didn’t have any money.

POCATELLO当地消息——上周，Irving中学的食堂员工Dalene Bowden被开除了，原因是她给一个没钱吃饭的12岁小女孩免费打了份热乎乎的午饭。

Bowden has now received a registered letter from the Pocatello/Chubbuck School District informing her that she has been fired.

而且Bowden已经收到了Pocatello/Chubbuck学区办公室发来的正式辞退信。她就这样丢了自己的饭碗。

The brief, one-page letter was signed by District 25 Director of Human Resources Susan Petit. It states that Bowden was dismissed due to her theft of school district property and inaccurate transactions when ordering, receiving and serving food.

这份直截了当的辞退信只有一页，是由25学区人力资源部的经理Susan Petit签发的。信上说，Bowden被炒的原因是偷窃学区财产以及在给学生打饭时的不正当行为。

Bowden’s story garnered hundreds of comments on social media and an online petition was launched Saturday demanding that Bowden be reinstated as a lunch lady at Irving.

Bowden大妈的故事在网上得到了极大关注，上周六网友还发起了联名请愿，强烈要求恢复Bowden食堂大妈的工作。

Bowden said she offered to pay for the $1.70 lunch, but her supervisor rejected her offer. And she was placed on termination leave last Tuesday pending a meeting with the District 25 School Board.

Bowden大妈说，她当时本想自己来付那份1.7美元的午饭钱，但是她的上司却拒绝了。之后的周二，25学区董事会举行了会议，最终决定开除她。

District School Board member Jacob Gertsch declined to comment on Bowden’s termination Monday, calling it a personnel matter. And administrators could not be reached.

周一，学区董事会成员Jacob Gertsch拒绝对辞退Bowden一事发表意见，只说辞退她是因为个人问题。并且记者至今未与能其他管理层人员取得联系。

“This is just breaking my heart,” Bowden said. “And they couldn’t even bother to put my check in with the letter.”

“我心里难受死了，”Bowden大妈说，“而且他们甚至不把我的工资支票放在辞退信里。”

The letter states that Bowden will be paid within 10 days.

辞退信里只说，Bowden大妈最后的工资会在10天之内付给她。

Raushelle Guzman, of Pocatello, started an online petition hoping to convince the district to rehire Bowden. As of Monday, more than 1,800 people had signed the online petition.

Pocatello城的Raushelle Guzman在网上发起了请愿活动，希望能说服学区重新雇用Bowden大妈。到周一为止，已经有1800人在请愿书上签名。

Guzman said she doesn’t know Bowden, but she does have two children who attend District 25 schools.

请愿活动的发起者Guzman说她其实并不认识Bowden大妈，不过她的两个孩子都在25学区上学。

“I think (Bowden) did the right thing and I think we need to make sure that every child that wants lunch can have lunch,” Guzman said. “I think the district’s policy needs to be changed. We do not need to humiliate or demean any child or worker in that situation. Students must be provided with an adequate meal.”

“我觉得（Bowden）做的是好事，而且我觉得我们应该确保每一个想吃午饭的孩子都能吃到午饭，”Guzman说。“我觉得学区的政策应该改改。我们不应该在这种情况下羞辱或者贬低某个孩子或者员工。学生们必须得吃饱。”

Bowden has worked for District 25 for the past three years and said she’s never been written up or reprimanded for her job performance. But she said she did receive a verbal warning once for giving a student a free cookie.

Bowden已经在25学区工作了3年，并且从来没得到过关于工作表现的投诉或者斥责。但是她说自己以前因为免费给了学生一块儿饼干而被口头警告过。

She plans to seek legal counsel regarding the termination letter accusing her of theft.

她准备就辞退信上称她为贼一事寻求法律帮助。

“I broke the rules, but I offered to pay for the meal and I don’t think I deserved to lose my job over it,” Bowden said.

“我违反了规定，但是我说了我来付那份午饭的钱，而且因为这件事就丢了工作，我觉得特别冤枉，”Bowden大妈说。

Last week, Interim Superintendent Douglas Howell said District 25 works to make sure children who live in economically disadvantaged homes receive free or reduced hot lunches.

上周，临时主管Douglas Howell说，25学区会设法确保家境困难的孩子能够吃到免费或者便宜的热乎饭。

District 25 also participates in the Idaho Foodbank’s weekend backpack program that sends food items home with students in need each Friday.

25学区也加入了爱达荷Foodbank的周末背包项目，每周五给有需要的学生食物，让他们带回家。

Shelley Allen, spokeswoman for the district, said last week that students who exceed an $11 charge limit are provided something to eat, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and milk.

学区发言人Shelley Allen上周说，那些超出了11美元午餐限额的学生会得到其他吃的，比如花生酱或者果酱三明治，还有牛奶。

Parents are notified once the lunch bill reaches the $11 cutoff.

家长会收到一个午餐费已达到11美元限额的通知。

Bowden said if a child is over the credit limit, workers are supposed to take their tray away and dump it.

Bowden大妈说，一旦有孩子超过了限额，食堂员工就会拿走他们的餐盘并且直接扔掉。

“I know I screwed up, but what are you supposed to do when the kid tells you that they’re hungry and they don’t have any money,” Bowden said.

“我知道我搞砸了，但如果有个孩子跟你说他肚子饿，没钱买饭，你会怎么做？”Bowden大妈说。