View the Spotsylvania County community page

Spotsy tables meals policy

Spotsylvania School Board ups ante for parents of students who run up school lunch bills

Date published: 6/30/2009

By PAMELA GOULD

The Spotsylvania County School Board delayed a vote last night on a revised meals policy after several members expressed opposition to punishing children for their parents' failure to pay to feed them.

Under the current policy and in the proposed revision, students whose parents owed money for meals they had eaten would be denied the opportunity to take part in activities such as field trips and field days.

Joyce Baugher, president of the Wilderness Elementary PTA, addressed the board at last night's meeting and said she supported the policy revisions except for that part.

Board members echoed that concern and expressed others.

They voted unanimously to table the issue until the next board meeting on July 20.

In the interim, the food service task force will meet to continue discussing it.

Lee Hill board member Amanda Blalock said she also opposed a debt cap proposed for elementary school-age children.

"I cannot support anything that would not feed a child at that age," Blalock said.

The discussion on revising the policy follows a school year that ended with roughly $28,000 worth of unpaid meals.

The proposed policy would no longer assure students a meal during the lunch day.

Instead, it would let elementary students run up a tab of $43, middle-schoolers a tab of $27, and high-schoolers one meal before credit was cut off.

Under the revised policy, phone calls and letters would be used to alert parents when an account went into a deficit and as it approached the limit.

If parents did not pay or set up a payment plan in response to those efforts, a collection agency could be used after the limit was reached.

If a child isn't being provided a lunch or money for one, the school system could contact the county's social services department to investigate possible child neglect.

School administrators are asking that parent-teacher organizations set up a safety net so that students with unpaid balances could at least get a cheese sandwich.

The School Board automatically was scheduled to review its meals policy this summer, but outstanding debts from the just-ended school year made the issue a hotter topic.

Of the $28,000 deficit, about $2,700 was owed by parents who later qualified for free or reduced-price lunches.

On June 12, Superintendent Jerry Hill sent an e-mail to school employees asking them to help cover $2,700 in meals costs incurred by families that later qualified for free or reduced-price meals. School Board members interviewed didn't object to Hill sending the e-mail, but two said they appreciated why some school staff reacted negatively to it. "I understand why he did it but I think with the budget year being what it was, it was probably not the wisest thing to do," said Battlefield District Board member Linda Wieland, a retired teacher. She, like other board members, noted that teachers routinely pay out of their pockets for school supplies and cover other costs throughout the school year. "Teachers are already giving an awful lot, and Dr. Hill knows that. His heart was in the right place, but he wants to pay it off," she said. Salem District Board member Donald Holmes was aware the message sparked some negative reactions but said he didn't think Hill meant any harm. "I think it was just poorly worded and it was never his intent to suggest faculty and teachers were not doing all they could to help kids," he said. Chancellor District board member Martin Wilder and Livingston member Ray Lora said employees shouldn't have been offended by the message and were under no obligation to donate. "Dr. Hill, out of the goodness of his heart, sent out this memorandum," Lora said. "Anybody that took offense to that, shame on them." --Pam Gould

Follow us on

Read more stories about Spotsylvania
Date published: 6/30/2009

Most recent reader comments: