PORTSMOUTH
Elementary and preschool students will be allowed to defer three lunch payments and students across the division will now pay $1.25 for lunch.
School Board members Thursday voted on the changes at the first meeting that included newly elected board members Ned McCabe and Costella Williams.
All but board members Mark Whitaker and Linda Ridenour voted to limit lunch "charges." That's the term for the practice of letting students who must pay for lunch defer payment. Portsmouth had allowed elementary and preschool students to charge lunches without limit.
Over the past six years, school officials say, the practice has resulted in more than $265,000 in unpaid meal fees. More than $71,000 of that came from the past school year.
With Thursday's decision, elementary and preschool students will be allowed to charge three meals.
The first time a student charges a lunch, administrators will try to contact his or her parents or guardians. If they have been reached, and the child has charged three lunches but has not paid, the student will get a free brown bag lunch.
If the child requires the free bagged lunch 10 times in a row, an official from the division's youth risk prevention office will visit the student's home. Depending on the findings, Child Protective Services may be called in to help with the case.
Last week, School Board members voted to raise elementary and preschool lunch prices to $1 from 85 cents, and middle and high school lunch prices to $1.10 from 95 cents, to keep up with rising food costs.
They also tabled a vote on whether to add a lunch surcharge of as much as an additional 25 cents, to help pay for about $1.26 million that school officials say is needed to repair and replace cafeteria equipment.
On Thursday, McCabe asked that the board reconsider that higher price.
"I think if we ask for $1.25 for lunch, we're not asking for a terrific amount," said McCabe, who calculated that standard bag lunches made at home can cost from $1.44 to $1.74.
All but Chairman James Bridgeford and board members Jean Shackelford and Jim Hewitt voted for McCabe's proposal.
Board member Elizabeth Daniels said the higher lunch prices are necessary to help the school division make up for the money it has lost by charging too little for lunch for years.
Cheryl Ross, (757) 446-2443, cheryl.ross@pilotonline.com
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Raise expectations....
PERIOD.
Fair Proposal
Three charges is fair. Paperbag Lunch for 10 days in a row also is fair when you consider so many people live pay check to paycheck and that must be taken in consideration. We all have times we are short of cash and rob "Peter to pay Paul" and this policy gives everyone a fair chance to get caught up and ahead. Now I personally think that if they offered the paperbag lunch at a reduced price many parents would take that lunch for their kids - especially if the cost is about 30 cents or so (mainly for milk).
Excellent Plan for School Lunch
I commend the new additions to the school board - Costella Williams and Edward McCabe. It appears their votes have already made a difference. They were able to get a vote to reconsider the inadequate lunch prices approved last week by the old board and stop the unlimted charges for the system. Good work!
Good Plan, But There Is Just One Problem
Why are they waiting until the 10th consecutive day to notify Social Services if a child has to have a brown bag lunch? Why not the fifth day, period? It is obvious that these students who come to school more than twice without lunch money have problems that are caused by the parents or guardians.
Excellent plan...but you need one more thing...
...make sure the parents can get the balance of their accounts quickly and easily. It personally took me nine phone calls over the course of the week to find out that I still had $3 in my child's account!!!!
school lunch prices
Good grief, what is it with folks? The price for lunch in elementary schools in Accomack County has been $1.50 since my daughter started kindergarten, and she will be in 5th grade in September.