Lunchroom incident sparks new procedures
By Carla Gwaltney Owens Sentinel writer

An incident recently involving a fifth grade student at Hayesville Middle School brought to the attention of the local school system some issues with the school's lunch program. In brief, a fifth grader was not allowed to purchase lunch due to the fact that his lunch account balance was in the "red."

T w o weeks ago, a fifth grade student had his hot lunch taken away by the lunchroom c a s h i e because he had no funds in his lunch account. The s t u d e n t ' lunch was taken away, thrown in the garbage and he was given a p r e - m a d e peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is the school's "free lunch." This "free lunch" is offered to students who do not have lunch money in their account or do not have cash to pay for lunch.

According to the parents of the student, they were not informed that the students account was low and said that the meal which was taken away was thrown in the garbage in front of him and his classmates, pointing out that the meal was simply wasted instead of allowing him to eat it.

The parents' complaint to the school was that there was no written communication from the cafeteria concerning the child's account and that the child was embarrassed when his lunch was taken away from him in front of his friends.

Addressing these concerns, Food Services Director Barbara Wood said that she was not aware of all of the changes facing fifth grade students and that her conversation with the parents of the student was very helpful.

Wood said that the cafeteria was not included in the 5th grade orientation, therefore, parents and students were not made aware of policy changes that occur from elementary to middle school.

In the past, she explained, elementary students have been allowed to charge if their lunch account goes into the "red," but that middle school students have not had that privilege. Wood said another change from 4th to 5th is that students no longer receive written slips to take home to parents when they need to bring lunch money. Wood said that middle school students are told verbally by the cashiers when their accounts are low and they need to bring lunch money.

Following her meeting with the parents, Wood said she began to see that many of these fifth grade students still need a little leniency. Wood said that there are so many big changes facing students as they make the transition from elementary school to middle school and that a little extra help in adjusting to all the changes is needed.

Wood said one suggestion of the child's mother was to stamp a child's hand when his account is getting low so that the child will be reminded to tell their parents they need lunch money. Woods said she liked that idea and will hopefully implement that procedure.

"We have identified some of the issues facing these students," Wood commented. "And (the parents of the student) have helped us to see the tremendous changes that these children are going through."

Wood said that changes in the way the cafeteria handles middle school students' accounts have been made, and have been outlined in a plan by Superintendent Scotty Penland.

Wood also addressed some other issues currently facing the cafeteria. One obstacle that Wood said the food service at the school faces is a very outdated kitchen in need of renovation and a very small cafeteria in which to serve all of the students from the three schools. Wood said that they have a tremendous challenge to feed all of these students with the current facility. That is why Wood is excited about the prospect of a new school with its own cafeteria. Wood said this would allow more time for students to eat lunch since all 1,400 students wouldn't be using the same cafeteria for lunch.

A change to the food service this year that parents might not be aware of is the addition of menu items for middle and high school students and a change to a single entree item for the elementary school. Woods explained that nothing is set in stone and that they are simply trying the menu changes out to see if it is better for the entire school system. She explained that by only offering on menu item for elementary students the cafeteria has tried to concentrate on food choices that are better suited for and more likely to be enjoyed by the younger students. Wood said this has also simplified the lunch routine for

teachers and students and helped move the students through the lunch line at a quicker pace. This allows students more time to eat their lunch, she added, saying that although it takes away choices from the students it does save time.

Wood continued to explain that this has also made it possible for the kitchen to offer an additional entree item to the middle school and high school. Wood said that it is a challenge to prepare food the entire student body out of the current kitchen.

A new school with it's own cafeteria would solve this problem, she explained, by allowing meals for younger students to be prepared in their own cafeteria and allowing the current cafeteria to focus on meals for the older students.

"We would have more time for serving the smaller students," she said of the prospect of a new school cafeteria. "It would be a different environment with lower serving lines and smaller tables and chairs."

Of the food service program Wood said they are always trying to do better and find better way to serve the students. Wood said that she welcomes parents comments and input. "Please call with your ideas or concerns. We want to know what the kids think and we want to try to improve our services."

Of the recent incident, Wood said she regrets that it happened but that the dialogue with the parents, she believes, has been helpful. "I am happy that I am now aware of the needs of these students," Wood said of the fifth grade students in a critical year of transition.

Wood also asked that parents let the cafeteria know if a child ever has a special situation by contacting her office or going to the manager. "We will work with the students," she stressed.

Following are comments by Clay County School Superintendent D. Scott Penland addressing the food services at the school.

"I would like to respond to the recent events concerning the Clay County Schools' Cafeteria. The State of North Carolina does not provide funds for school lunches. School cafeterias in North Carolina are operated as a business. They must purchase food, pay employees, and pay any other expenses associated with running a

business, such as purchase of equipment, utilities, etc. All of this must be paid for by the collection of breakfast and lunch monies.

"If a parent's income level is such that they are unable to afford the costs of our meals, the National School Lunch Program has a program that will allow parents to request free or reduced lunches and breakfasts. If approved, we then receive subsidy from the Federal Government for all free and reduced students. In fact, the $1.75 that we charge "full paid" students doesn't even cover the cost of a lunch. The Federal Government realizes that and allows us an allowance of 23 cents per student for the "full paid" student also.

"As I stated earlier, this is a simple enterprise. We take in money from students for lunch and breakfast and use that money to purchase food and pay employees. This has to be a "break-even" process. We are not allowed to make money. We are prohibited by law of having over 3 months operating balance in our account. All public schools in North Carolina are required to have a balanced budget and can not operate in the "red". So, we always walk a fine line between not losing money and not making money.

"Over the years, we have tried every scenario imaginable to make the collections process smoother. To this date, we have found no 'fool proof' way of making the process work 100% of the time. If we continue to allow students to show up without money, and no consequences, pretty soon, the entire student body knows they don't have to bring lunch money and we literally have thousands of dollars owed to us with no enforceable way of collecting.

"The solution requires that everyone do their part. The school needs to have a policy in place that will allow a student some leeway if it is an honest mistake on their part. The student needs to try to remember and make sure they have lunch money either in their account or in their pocket, much the same way they would before they went to a

local eatery or convenience store. Parents need to help by making sure they send appropriate money with their children and also, by asking them on a regular basis if they have sufficient lunch money in their account.

"The Board of Education has endorsed a policy that should take care of the school's part. Effective immediately, Middle School students will be given the benefit of the doubt and be allowed to go into the "red" for up to three lunches without money. After that, the student can go to the principal's office and borrow money from a special fund. Elementary students will not be affected, as we have always allowed them to go into the "red".

"If a student doesn't want to do any of the above, we will still give the student an alternate meal. We have always provided students with the option of a "free" alternate meal. We will continue to do this in the future.

"I have advocated in the past, along with other superintendents, that school breakfast and lunches be a part of the regular school day and provided "free" to all students. After all, we provide, books, transportation, classrooms, etc. at no cost.

"Why not meals? It would require a tax increase, I'm sure. It's as broad as it is long. You would just be taking the money that you now send for lunches and send to the government as additional taxes. They would in turn, send us the money to operate our School Food Service Program. This would take away thousands of hours of paperwork presently required to meet current regulations and would make this a 'non-issue.'

"Our school cafeteria does an outstanding job! They serve 1,400 students in approximately 2 hours every day. They have one of the hardest jobs on campus and perform this job exceedingly well. Our goal is to take whatever steps necessary to continue serving quality food at an extremely low price."

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