Christ Church: Jacksonville, FL

Dear Friends at Christ Church,

I received this note from a teacher in an “upper low income” school, encouraging us as a church in our commitment to invest ourselves in the city in which God has placed us. Her letter is powerful in showing us just how wealthy we are, and reminding us how responsible we are with those blessings. I hope it impacts you as it did me.

"Hey John!

I really support the way you are trying to get people on board with helping the inner city community. God has not given us all the blessings we have for our own use. I strongly feel that we should use our wealth for God's glory. However, I don't think our church gets it! I wanted to give you some statistics of what is going on at my school. We are a title one school, certainly NOT the poorest. I would say we are upper-lower class. Most of my parents work and some students have two parents that work. One child has a mother who works days and a dad who works nights. Most of my students have the support of both parents, working and involved. Most of my class went to VPK last year. ALL of my class is on free or reduced lunch. 89% of the kids at our school qualify for free and reduced lunch. Most of them are receiving free lunch. Not one student in my class has a bed - not one! I am not talking about the poorest in Jacksonville, just the poor. The students in my class sleep on the floor, the couch, with their mom and dad, on a mattress without sheets, share a bed with a sibling of the opposite sex. Not one has their own bed with sheets and a mattress. Most of the students come with shoes that are several sizes too big or too small. Their clothes are either too big or too small. I have five students who wear clothes that fit, but they wear clothes for the wrong time of the year, which is common among the poor.

Below are the requirements for income for free and reduced lunch. Remember this is the highest amount they can earn to still receive free/reduced lunch. Most of the students in my class come from families who do not make higher than $20,000 annually. I know that they pay $467/month for rent and $100 at least for utilities. I think we need to do a mock budget to show our church how meager $20,000/year is for a family of 4 (one mom and 3 kids) to live on! The families are in survival mode all the time.

I know a lot of suburbanites think that the schools are the same and we are all getting the same education, the poor just aren't taking advantage of their opportunities. Well, let me tell you that if a teacher gets an evaluation of less than satisfactory he/she is given an administrative transfer. This means that the principal basically fires them, but they are not allowed to be fired so they are placed at another school. Because of the union, they are not eligible to be fired or surplussed at the new school until after two years of lots of paperwork. You can imagine at what schools they get placed. On top of that, good teachers get sick of the stress and transfer out. I have too many examples to list of how different the schools are from the south side of town, but if people think they are the same, they haven't had their eyes open."

FLORIDA INCOME ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

FOR REDUCED PRICE MEALS
REDUCED PRICE MEAL SCALE: Effective from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010

HOUSEHOLD SIZE, ANNUAL, MONTHLY, TWICE PER MONTH, EVERY TWO WEEKS, WEEKLY
1 20,036 1,670 835 771 386
2 26,955 2,247 1,124 1,037 519
3 33,874 2,823 1,412 1,303 652
4 40,793 3,400 1,700 1,569 785
5 47,712 3,976 1,988 1,836 918
6 54,631 4,553 2,277 2,102 1,051
7 61,550 5,130 2,565 2,368 1,184
8 68,469 5,706 2,853 2,634 1,317
For each additional family member, add 6,919 577 289 267 134
Remember: The total income before health benefits, social security, taxes, union dues, or other deductions, must be reported.

INCOME THAT MUST BE REPORTED
EARNINGS FROM WORK PENSION/RETIREMENT/SOCIAL SECURITY
Net Income from self-owned Pensions
Business or Farm Retirement Income
Strike Benefits Social Security
Unemployment Compensation Supplemental Social Security Income
Wages/Salaries/Tips Veterans Payments
Worker’s Compensation

WELFARE/CHILD SUPPORT/ALIMONY OTHER INCOME
Alimony Payments Annuities
Child Support Payments Cash Withdrawn From Savings
Public Assistance Disability Benefits
Welfare Payments Income from Estate/Trusts/Investments
Interest/Dividends
Net Rental Income
Regular Contributions from Persons Not Living in
Your Home
Any Other Income

Si surge la necesidad por una applicacion en Espanol, el telefono de contacto es - 904-390-2202.

Non-discrimination Statement: This explains what to do if you believe you have been treated unfairly. In accordance with Federal law and U. S. Department of Agriculture policy, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (Voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TTY). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

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