8500A - PROCEDURE FOR CHARGED MEALS

It is the responsibility of the parents to provide lunch for their children while at school. However, it is important to provide children the nutrition they need to stay focused during the school day. This procedure shall apply in the event that a child neither has a lunch nor the funds to purchase a lunch.

The School Board wishes to maintain the fiscal integrity of the District’s food service program and to incentivize appropriate household responsibility for the payment of costs that a student incurs in the use of the program, while also pursuing the critically important goals of providing students with adequate nutrition and minimizing the extent to which any student is stigmatized because they have insufficient funds to pay for a meal or because the student’s household owes a debt within the food service program.

In accordance with requirements established by federal and state oversight agencies, the administration shall adopt, maintain, implement, and clearly communicate a written administrative rule on the subject of meal charges and the collection of funds within the District’s food service program. With respect to meal charges, the rule must particularly identify how children who pay the full-price (paid rate) or reduced price for a Federally-reimbursable meal are affected by not having enough money (either in hand or in their student food service account) to cover the cost of a meal at the time of the meal service.

Key Responsibilities of Parents and Guardians

Parents and guardians must plan for their child to have sufficient access to food at school on each school day and must actively monitor and manage their child’s school food service account, including making prompt payment of any charges. Parents and guardians should communicate with their child about how meals, snacks, and other food will be provided each day.

The administrative rule shall be consistent with this policy, including the following parameters:

1. The District Administrator shall ensure that the Director of Business Services, the Student Nutrition Director and school principals are consulted in the process of developing and, as needed, revising the written administrative rule regarding meal charges and collections.
2. The rule may differentiate meal charge and collection procedures by school level or by particular grade spans.
3. When a student’s meal account has an unused, positive balance at the end of a school year, the positive balance will be carried over to the following year unless a written request is received from the parent/guardian for reimbursement.
4. All students that attend the School District of Jefferson shall have a meal account.
5. Account deposits may be made by electronic funds transfer or mailed to or dropped off at the district office or at any of the schools in the district. Deposits made by 8:30 a.m. will be reflected in service line balances as soon as possible. Deposits should be sent in an envelope which is labeled with the student’s first and last name and the amount of the payment. All checks are to be made payable to the School District of Jefferson.
6. Families are encouraged to keep a minimum balance of $20.00 and make minimum deposits of $20.00.
7. Students who are eligible for free meals are eligible to receive one free lunch and breakfast daily. Ala carte items and additional meals do not qualify under free or reduced lunch federal guidelines.
8. Additional meals or ala carte food items may be purchased only if there is money in the student’s account.
9. There will be no adjustments to student meal accounts after 60 calendar days from purchase.
10. Parents/guardians are responsible for maintaining sufficient funds in their student’s account.
11. Parents/guardians may use the online parent account software program setup through the school to monitor student’s food service activity and balances.
12. Parents may also pay for school meals via the Internet through the District’s Nutrition Services website.
13. Parents/guardians who do not have Internet access may contact the Food Service department at 920-675-1035 or 920-675-1114 to request information on their account.
14. Upon request by a student, food service personnel or office staff will provide balance information to the student.
15. Families who have negative balances will receive automated phone messages and/or emails until the balance is positive.
16. When a student’s meal account is depleted, or there are low or insufficient funds in the account, the Collection Guidelines below apply.

SCHOOL MEAL ACCOUNT CHARGES AND COLLECTIONS GUIDELINES:

Elementary (Grades K-5) Meal Charges

1. Families are notified by an automated phone message if their food service account balance is at all negative.
2. The food service department will notify the building principal when a student’s lunch account reaches a negative ten dollars (-$10.00). This allows appropriate staff such as principal, social worker, or counselor to be aware of the concern and use their best judgment to reach out to the family if necessary.
3. Students will continue to receive a regular lunch until the account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars ($-25.00).
4. If an account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars (-$25.00), the student will be provided a regular meal until the negative account has been rectified. These meals will be the least expensive entree item in the USDA meal pattern.
5. If an account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars ($-25.00), the parent/guardian will be referred to the principal and/or the school social worker for further assistance in resolving each situation.
6. If a negative lunch account is not resolved after five days, and if the student does not bring a lunch of their own, the student will continue to be provided with a regular meal at a per-diem rate determined by the Student Nutrition Director with fees to be collected at a determined future date.

Secondary School (Grades 6-12) Meal Charges

1. Families are notified by an automated phone message if their food service account balance is at all negative.
2. Additionally, students will be discreetly told (verbally) by the food service staff when their account has reached a negative number.
3. The food service department will notify the building principal or designee when a student’s lunch account reaches a negative ten dollars (-$10.00). This allows appropriate staff such as principal, social worker, or counselor to be aware of the concern and use their best judgment to reach out to the family if necessary.
4. Students will continue to receive a regular lunch until the account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars ($-25.00).
5. If an account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars (-$25.00), the student will be limited to the main line option until the negative account has been rectified. These meals will be the least expensive entree item in the USDA meal pattern.
6. If an account reaches a negative twenty-five dollars ($-25.00), the parent/guardian will be referred to the principal and/or the school social worker for further assistance in resolving each situation.
7. If a negative lunch account is not resolved after five (5) days, and if the student does not bring a lunch of their own, the student will continue to be provided with a regular meal at a per-diem rate determined by the Student Nutrition Director with fees to be collected at a determined future date.

Every effort shall be made by school personnel to avoid embarrassing or in any way harming the student as a result of account deficiencies. 

Regular meals provided to students will be claimed for reimbursement and any balance charged to the student.

A student's parents, teacher, and Principal will all be notified of the delinquency in the student's account each time it is necessary for the student to charge a meal to give the parents time to send a check or cash to school with their child to give to the Student Nutrition Director.

Donations to Pay Debts in Student Food Service Accounts

When donations are received by the school district earmarked for negative food service accounts held by students, the district may, at the end of each applicable month, apply the donated funds to free and reduced qualifying students’ lunch accounts to offset negative balances that may exist.

At the discretion of each Principal, a school or private service fund may be established to pay for student’s charged meals. The Nutrition Services Manager will work with each Principal to determine a payment schedule for these meals.

School District of Jefferson 2023