‘MARK OF THE BEAST’?: ELEMENTARY SCHOOL MULLING PLAN TO SCAN KIDS’ PALMS IN THE LUNCH LINE

• Posted on August 20, 2012 at 8:22am by  Liz Klimas

Parents of students at a Lake Charles, La. elementary school are upset over new technology that officials hope to use in the lunch room, believing it would expedite payment in the cafeteria line giving students more time to eat.

KPLC TV reported last week that Moss Bluff Elementary School officials sent a letter home to parents explaining a new system that would scan students’ palms, which in turn would identify the student and the subsequent individual payment plan (thus speeding up the line).

This letter was sent home to parents explaining the palm vein scanner. (Image: KPLC TV)

“With an elementary school, they all come through line, and most of them eat here. It would make us more efficient and more accurate,” Principal of the nearly 1,000-student school Charles Caldarera said to KPLC TV. “We’ve had parents complain in the past, because they felt like their children weren’t eating, that we assigned them a charge for the day, and they might have been right.”

But parents of some students have expressed opposition to using palm scanners to identify students for payment. KPLC TV reports more on one parent’s thoughts:

“I was very, very mad,” said parent Mamie Sonnier. “Disappointed.”

[...]

Sonnier says she’s against the palm vein scanner because of her beliefs.

“As a Christian, I’ve read the Bible, you know go to church and stuff,” said Sonnier. “I know where it’s going to end up coming to, the mark of the beast. I’m not going to let my kids have that.”

Caldarera says a lot of parents agree with her, but he says it’s just technology.

“I think a lot of this has to do with religious beliefs,” said Caldarera. “I think some people feel it’s something with the Bible, mark of the beast. It’s technology that is used throughout our lives. Everywhere.”

The system isn’t officially in place yet, but KPLC TV reports Caldarera saying he hopes the program would be started as soon as possible. KPLC TV reports parents not wanting their children to participate were encouraged to contact the school.

This Louisiana school is not the first to use scanning technology in the lunch line. Earlier this year, a Florida County school district was considering the scanners and an Omaha school has beenusing thumb scanners for several years now.