Brunswick County Schools to stop letting high schoolers charge lunch costs

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Starting in the New Year, high school students who have an excessive meal charge balance will not be served a school lunch in Brunswick County.

The revision to the district’s Student Meal Charges policy imposes a $15 charge limit for elementary and middle school students and a no-charge policy for high school students. Brunswick County Schools says the district began educating parents months ago about the revisions to the policy.

The school district says a staggering amount of outstanding student meal charges sparked the change. Last year, it spent $105,000 to cover the cost of the charges. The district compares that to the cost of two teaching positions.

The school district says child nutrition program officials and school administrators have been working directly with parents this school year to help them understand the new policy as well as make them aware of outstanding balances through personal and automated phone calls and letters.

Staff have also worked with families to help fill out free and reduced meal applications. The schools say this has dramatically reduced the amount of meal charges at this point in the school year by more than 50 percent compared to last year’s data, but more than 50 percent of the $30,499 owed ($15,763) is attributed to 481 high school students.

Parents of any high school student with an excessive meal charge balance will receive a letter this week informing them the no-charge policy will be enforced January 2, 2017. This means their high school student will not be served a school lunch. Brunswick County Schools provides all students, regardless of meal application status, a free nutritious breakfast.

The impact of the outstanding balances might not only impact a high school student’s lunch; high school students who owe money are not permitted to participate in prom or commencement exercises.

Child Nutrition Director Robert Parker urges parents of high school students who receive a letter to contact their child’s school or his office.

“We will work with them,” Parker said. “They just have to make the effort.”