A British secondary school is taking heat for charging kids a little over $1 per paper face mask if they forget to bring their own from home.
Woodrush High School sent a newsletter home in mid-September that said while “it has been great to see how well our students have taken to using face masks around the school site this week,” students will have to pay if they forget one moving forward.
“As of next week… if your child attends school without a mask they will be asked to purchase one from student services for £1,” the newsletter said. “A payment will be charged directly to your ParentPay account.”
A British pound is worth about $1.34.
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The school had previously “handed out a few” to kids who needed them.
So, parents weren’t too keen on being charged for the face masks.
“My son has his own but was told he looked uncomfortable and to have a school one,” one parent said, according to The Sun. “Then I was charged. He had taken his own every day without fail.”
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Another parent noted that the school was making a “nice little profit” because “you can buy a box of 50 for £3,” according to the newspaper.
“Families are struggling as it is. Totally unjust, totally unfair,” the unnamed parent said.
A spokesperson for the school told The Sun that they don’t want to have to sell masks, “but if we gave masks away without charge, there would be no incentive for anyone to bring their own.”
The United Kingdom’s national lockdown is set to end on Dec. 2 at which point the country will transition to a tiered system with three levels of restrictions.