County schools lunch debt, budget on the agenda for Saturday work session
♦ Floyd County BOE members also will get an update on Armuchee High renovations.
The Floyd County Board of Education has much to discuss at Saturday’s board meeting in the superintendent’s office at 8 a.m.
Topics range from the budget for Fiscal Year 2021 to addressing the school system’s lunch debt.
The county school system reverted to having parents pay for students’ school lunches in January 2019 but officials say some balances aren’t being paid. In November, the director of school nutrition for FCS, Donna Carver, said the lunch debt skyrocketed to an estimated $32,000.
Superintendent Jeff Wilson said that due to donations, the debt has remained the same since then.
“From the word that I’m hearing from folks in the community ... there’s some people who are just angry that they’re having to pay at all,” said Carver at the November 2019 caucus.
Wilson has stated he is hesitant to offer an alternative lunch to students who have not paid their lunch balances.
One option on the list to be presented to the board is to not allow students to participate in extra-curricular activities until their lunch debt is paid off. These would include elementary and middle school dances and prom.
“Any funds presented must be applied to clear the balance before a purchase can be made,” the presentation states.
The proposal includes a provision that, should there be any money left over in the lunch budget at the end of the year, that money would be used to clear the remaining lunch debt system-wide.
Board members are expected to discuss the proposal in detail before taking a vote.
Along with this, Director of Facilities Jack Gardner will discuss the next steps for Armuchee High School’s renovation.
The project, which includes the improvement of athletic facilities and the complete modernization of the high school, is projected to cost $35 million over a course of four years. Wilson said the next step is to finish the athletics portion of the project, which is fully funded by the ELOST.
The early morning board meeting is open to the public, but it won’t be the only opportunity for community members to offer their input on Armuchee High.
Wilson said a community meeting to discuss the building plans is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. at Armuchee High School.
Some members of the public, according to Wilson, have expressed concern about athletic facility improvements coming before the building’s roof being completed. According to Wilson, they simply can’t do that if the school system wants the state to offer any reimbursement for the roof to be redone.