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Meal Charge Policy

Meal Charging

  • All students are permitted to charge a full reimbursable meal unless the District receives a written request from the student’s parent or guardian to withhold school meals.
  • Students without a sufficient account balance are not permitted to charge a la carte foods, or other non-program foods.
  • Parents or guardians are responsible for negative balances incurred by their child.

Communication of Account Balances

  • Communication of a student’s balance will be made to the parent or guardian and not discussed with the student directly. Automated notifications will be sent via email to parents/guardians weekly for any student with a negative balance.

  • The school principal or designee will contact parents/guardians by telephone for any student negative balance in excess of $20.

  • The Business Office will send a letter to parents/guardians for any student negative balance in excess of $50.

  • If the District does not receive payment of the negative balance within 90 days, the negative account balance will be considered delinquent and may be turned over to a third party collection agency. The parents/guardians will be responsible for any collection fees, penalties or fines.

Delinquent Debt

  • After reasonable steps are taken in collecting delinquent school meal debt, delinquent debt still outstanding at the end of the school year will be brought to the attention of the Business Administrator for appropriate action. Such debt will be considered bad debt and non-federal funding sources must repay the Food Service Fund for the total amount of delinquent debt.

Charitable Funding

School volunteer organizations, school fundraisers, local charities, businesses, families and/or individuals are permitted to make donations to cover the cost of unpaid meal charges. Also, at the end of the school year, graduating seniors with a positive balance may donate their excess funds. All donations will be held in an account until the end of the school year before distribution to unpaid balances. Priority of distribution will be as follows:

  • Graduating seniors
  • Free/reduced status students
  • Paid status students

Monies donated from a school fundraiser or school volunteer organization will be distributed at the end of the school year in the same priority as above, but the funds will be applied directly to the unpaid balances related to the specific school that contributed the donation.