The PayPAMS Scam
Is anyone else as bothered as I am by the new lunch payment system, PayPAMS?
The first day of school packet included a slick full-color flyer for PayPAMS with a statement about a "nominal service fee" for using the service.
On the lunch menu, it says:
What does the Seattle School District get from this? Why is a for-profit like PayPams allowed to promote this service using the school district kid-mail? The district seems to be promoting this as a service to parents, positioning it as more convenient and easier then sending money into school with a child. But I don't buy that. Maybe it's easier for the district and for individual schools. But I don't think it's any great benefit for families. And I really resent the Seattle School District promoting a for-profit company.
The first day of school packet included a slick full-color flyer for PayPAMS with a statement about a "nominal service fee" for using the service.
On the lunch menu, it says:
I don't consider 5.6% a "nominal" fee. In fact, if you buy lunch for a middle school child for every day of the school year, that would mean PAMS would make over $20 from that child ($2.00 per lunch, 180 days per year.) Multiply that by the over 45,000 students in the district and you can see that PAMS is making real money from the parents in the district through this service."Seattle School District is pleased to offer PayPams as a meal payment service for students and families. Parents/guardians now have the convenience of paying using the internet or by phone using either a credit card/debit card anytime day or night. A service fee of 5.6% per payment is charged to the parent/guardian account at the time of the transaction. Pre-pay for school meals 24-7. Learn more about this service by visiting www.PayPams.com."
What does the Seattle School District get from this? Why is a for-profit like PayPams allowed to promote this service using the school district kid-mail? The district seems to be promoting this as a service to parents, positioning it as more convenient and easier then sending money into school with a child. But I don't buy that. Maybe it's easier for the district and for individual schools. But I don't think it's any great benefit for families. And I really resent the Seattle School District promoting a for-profit company.
Comments
When I look at something like PayPAMS I think about what my time is worth -
> trying to divine what my 3 elementary-age children's remaining balances are (through cryptic notes and messages that come from the cafeteria and may or may not get to me on a timely basis)
> writing a check
> following up when said check doesn't get to its destination (which I only know when previously-mentioned cryptic notes and messages eventually arrive).
Not to mention that any follow-up can only happen when the "lunch lady" is there - not terribly convenient for me who works full-time.
For me, assuming they're in school about 10 months and buy lunch every day, it's $1.76/month/child. I say count me in and thank you!
Note - it also doesn't bother me if whoever is running PayPAMS is generating revenue - they have costs (VISA/MC processing fees, personnel cost including benefits, etc) that they should be able to recover (and profit from, for investments in assets and R&D).
Also to note - approx 40% of the 45,000 students are eligible free or reduced lunch, so the revenue upside isn't as much as you'd imagine.
The district will also presumably experience some savings from not having to handle, account for, and deposit as many paper checks as they do now - which they'll be able to spend on their core mission, I hope.
I don't have a beef with the district promoting it as a service, because it absolutely is for me. If I could pay my pay-for-K like this I'd be even happier.
( *the selection/appeal/choices of food
* militant vigilance against students ( for example student store) selling anything that might be competitive with the cafeteria
The way that at least in the past- kids on FRL were in a different line/seperated out from everyone else.
How humiliating.
But mostly I don't think the food is worth buying- and it is a shame that for kids who really need the nutrition- it is mostly dairy & high sugar- low fiber & taste.
But thinking about Charlies comment that his daughter thought the food looked good, don't all schools have the same thing?
I do note however- that when you pay for groceries- you are charged same fee whether you pay cash/write a check/charge card.
Im also thinking of all the opportunities for screwups.
I have to closely monitor my bank account as #s are sometimes inputted incorrectly & I have been charged for things I didn't order.
Also, classof75, grocery stores et al are in the business of selling products and collecting money from customers - and bear the costs of processing checks, credit cards, etc and/or build it into their product costs. SPS is not in the business of selling or collecting money from students - so I wouldn't expect them to bear the differential cost of a third-party service. They could build it into the cost of the lunch (i.e., increase it), though that doesn't seem fair to those who don't use the service.
Alternatively, SPS could charge people a processing fee for taking anything other than cash - which doesn't seem really practical either.
And as mentioned before - SPS is not forcing people to use this, are they?
It's a bit naive to get all upset about for-profit companies being involved in schools. They're already everywhere. Sally Foster gift wrap, "Boxtops for Education," yearbooks, WaMoola for schools, grocery store rebate programs. The list is different at every school, but virtually every school has several. They're all for-profit programs that make use of the schools, PTAs, and our kids backpack mail as marketing vehicles.
The difference with Sally Foster, Boxtops for Education, and the other for-profit companies you mentioned is that the individual school benefits directly financially from the fundraisers with those companies. I would argue that there are too many fundraisers and too much corporate profit from involvement in public schools (whether or not that position is naive), but the PayPAMS situation seems quite different to me.
Unless the School District is getting a percentage cut for this, I want to know how the district is benefitting and why they are pushing this. And if the district is getting a percentage of the fees, I want that to be clearly stated. Individual schools are definitely not benefitting.
Also, while the district is not requiring parents to use this, when the only instructions included in the first-day packet on how to pay for school lunches is the PayPAMS flier, it certainly encourages participation in the online system and discourages parents from using the traditional cash/check methods of payment.
And I don't plan on using the service.
The point is not whether or not you or I use the service, however. The point is that some company is making a good deal of money from parents in the Seattle School District and I would like to know if the district is benefitting at all from this. And if not, why is it promoting the service.
I think we need to give people a little more credit - and again, to factor in the 40% of children whose families don't need to pay any attention to this at all because they're FRL-eligible.
I would also debate (again) whether PayPAMS is getting "a good deal of money" from this - though the question to ask is if the district is paying for this in addition to the fee charged to participating families (though even if it is, you'd still have to look at the total cost-benefit of outsourcing this service.)
Re the district's "promotion" of for-profit entities: First Student and Durham are for-profit transportation providers that the district engages to bus students, presumably because it's more cost-efective, provides better service, and/or lets the district focus its dollars and attention on its core mission (which isn't food service or transportation).
Granted, the district is absorbing the cost of transportation and not transferring any of it to parents (yet) - but what constitutes "promotion"? When the district provides yellow bus transportation, is that promotion of a for-profit service? It might not be advertised through kid-mail, but it's certainly clear to families that it's available.
As a last comment, I think it's great to raise the questions and open the dialogue, but I think it's wrong to label it a "scam" before the dialogue has a chance to happen.
Also interesting with Bellevue - you have to pay a $10 per year per child set-up fee but there doesn't seem to be the 5.6% transaction fee...
whatever that means.
I recall seeing this PayPAMS thing at the end of last year, so if so, it can't have been the new sup's doing.
actually, this sounds like someone from charleston with a beef - if so, thanks, your work here is done and can we move on?
It would be great if this blog kept to the substantive issues and left the sophomoric, conspiracy-theory, shoot-from-the-hip allegations (beth on this one) to the trolls in the PI sound-offs and elsewhere - or at least encouraged a discussion of the (known and proven) facts.
I think you misunderstood me. I am not making allegations about conspiracy theory or wrong doings by the district. When I ask if the district is benefitting from the PayPAMS program, that is because I would prefer to hear that the district benefits financially.
I believe that it is wrong for private companies to make money from public school parents without some tangible benefit returning to the district or the schools.
I also did a little research and found that some districts have chosen to pay the PayPAMS fee as part of their food service operating costs (for example, Flagler County schools) because they want to make the option available to all parents, regardless of income and whether or not they have a non-Visa credit card.
If the Seattle School District paid the service fee (after an analysis that proves a tangible benefit to the district for doing so --- not just that it's more convenient and easier), then I would have less of a problem with it.
And no, this is not a weighty and important issue. It's just something that bugs me. And that's why I posted about it --- to share my views and see what others' views are.
Made me wonder. Can someone explain how school pictures work, financially?
Clearly, the company makes money when parents buy photos. What benefit does the district derive from the relationship?
Don't get overly defensive. Beth said it correctly. Follow the money to see who gets what. Then determine for yourself if it's a fair arrangement or not. Ideally there should be an equal benefit for all parties that can be measured in monetary terms. Outsourcing can be a good alternative, but too often the how and why aren't fully explained. This leaves a lot of room for speculation. Some Broad graduates do tend to rely on outsourcing. Some don't.
Nobody HAS to use Paypams.
There are alternatives. You can write a check or pay with cash, and your school will happily accept it.
This is a service of convenience that costs a few bucks. You have a choice in whether or not you use it. Some people clearly think it's well worth their money. My school happens to be very efficient in regards to lunch money tabs/payments, so I will continue to send in a check with my child when his account is low.
It's all about choice. Let it be.
"I believe that it is wrong for private companies to make money from public school parents without some tangible benefit returning to the district or the schools."
"Follow the money"
Why did Ms. Santorno have so much time to spend with McGraw Hill representatives while ignoring the many individuals and all the relevant data submitted in the recent fraudulent Everyday Math adoption?
Should it be any different whether it is food service or textbooks?
Should not $2.5 million for books produce a tangible benefit?
SPS is now not only in direct opposition to Project Follow Through but also now using books that deviate substantially from the best practices recommended by the SBE $150,000 consultant Linda Plattner.
Is there anyway to hold SPS leadership accountable?
Dan
But I don't understand a couple things: what good would it do lower income or VISA-paying families for the district to pay the fee?
1. Lower income families are likely not paying for lunch at all (esp now that there is no "reduced" lunch, only "free"), so the issue is moot (and in fact better because the district isn't paying for something the lower income families would receive no benefit from).
2. If you have only a VISA card, does it matter who's paying the fee if you can't use PayPAMS?
I don't understand this either: what if the district is basically neutral (no monetary benefit or cost) but parents who want the service benefit?
It sounds like that is a bad thing for you ("it is wrong for private companies to make money from public school parents without some tangible benefit returning to the district or schools")
Note many sources (CACIEE, LEV, etc) have found there are many parents who have both the means and the willingness to pay more for public school-related items (transportation, higher property tax levies, etc) - in part to preserve things the district has or might otherwise cut, in part to help the district balance its budget, etc.
If some families are getting a service they want, and are willing to pay the freight themselves (rather than have the district pay the fee), and it isn't costing the district anything because both being service-oriented AND passing the cost along to the users, AND children and families in poverty are not adversely affected at all, I don't see how this isn't win (users) win (district) win (low income families).
And win (PayPAMS) too - though no one ever wants to see corporations win...that's gross.
I see some advantages like being able to keep track of your balance and of the days your kids actually get lunch (as opposed to those days that they say they buy lunch, but don't).
I believe that if a public institutionis going to offer a service for a population of folks of diverse economic situations, then they need to fund that service or at least highlight IN BIG BOLD LETTERS the cost of the service up front.
I feel like it's a scam, too.
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