Fewer free lunches
A significant drop in the number of students on free and reduced lunches will reduce the amount of federal money that funds supplemental education programs, school superintendent Rick Neal told the School Board during a Monday evening meeting.
Additionally, the drop places the summer supplemental lunch program in jeopardy, he said.
“We were doing everything we could to get (parents to enroll), but we just didn’t get there,” Neal said. He noted the federal government has guidelines on how to solicit enrollment.
“We cannot figure it out, why they (the parents) are not returning the forms,” Neal said. “I think it is a false signal — some apathy problems — but we cannot coerce people to get forms back in … We cannot seem to get the parent to turn the form in.”
After the meeting Neal said he does not yet know how much money the district will lose, but it will not be insignificant.
The money is designed to provide additional educational help for low-income families — including reading, math and technology.
District staff will continue to solicit enrollment, but even if the district rises above the federal minimum, the deadline of Oct. 1 has passed, so that money cannot be recovered this year.
Assistant superintendent Keith Martin noted that, working with the Boys & Girls Club, there may be an avenue to offer the summer lunch program.
School Board member Ryan Heckman noted that fewer people on free and reduced lunch can be interpreted as a good sign for the economy. But, he questioned whether the data represents a false signal. Neal said he believes it’s a false signal.
The summer lunch program costs approximately $21,000 each summer. With federal funding, the program breaks even, Martin said.
“Food insecurity during the summer is my concern,” Martin said. “Students often have their best meal at 8 in the morning and at lunch time.”
Last summer approximately 130 people participated in the summer program, Martin said.
Heckman noted that it’s important to find an alternative way to fund the program.