Fundraiser to pay school lunch debt, honour Castile tops goal

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Organizers say a fundraiser to pay student lunch debt at the St. Paul school that employed a man who was fatally shot by a suburban Minneapolis police officer has far exceeded expectations.

The online fundraiser to honour Philando Castile had an original goal of $5,000 to pay the lunch debt at J.J. Hill Montessori Magnet. Castile was a nutrition supervisor at the school, whose students affectionately knew him as “Mr. Phil.”

The Star Tribune says that as of Thursday evening, the fundraising effort had climbed to $65,000, enough to cover the lunch debt for the entire St. Paul School District.

Castile was fatally shot by a St. Anthony police officer during a traffic stop in July 2016 in Falcon Heights. His girlfriend live-streamed the aftermath using her cellphone.