‘Alternative lunches’ cause complaints in Muscogee County School District

The Muscogee County School District has responded to complaints about students being given an “alternative lunch” when they don’t have enough money in their account to pay for their meal.

MCSD communications director Valerie Fuller didn’t have statistics available Wednesday to put the problem in perspective, but she acknowledged in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer there are “concerns about misconceptions that need to be addressed based on facts.”

When students in the lunch line reach the cashier and are told they don’t have enough money to pay for their hot meal, they are given an alternative lunch, which consists of a sandwich (a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a cheese sandwich), a fruit and milk, Fuller said.

That’s because MCSD’s $20 million school nutrition program is federally funded, separate from the school district’s budget, and “cannot operate in the red,” she said.

Parents and guardians are notified when their child’s account is deficient, Fuller said.

“The school nutrition program cannot assume a debt,” she said. “The meals must be reimbursed.”

The total debt in MCSD’s School Nutrition Program, as of Monday morning, was $3,519.10, comprising 986 students with unpaid meal charges, program director Susan Schlader told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Wednesday afternoon.

“Many of these have accumulated from past years and have rolled over,” Schlader said.

“Student account information is available to cashiers as they come through the meal line,” Fuller said. “They are notified discretely that there is an account balance and that an alternative meal is available. Of course the meal that was originally given would not be reused for another student unless it was a pre-packaged, non-opened item.

“Students are not penalized, nor intentionally called out or embarrassed by staff. Alternative lunches are provided when balances are outstanding. School administrators, teachers and staff work together to identify students who may be in need or eligible for potential free lunches throughout the year. Parents can apply at any time throughout the school year if their circumstances change.”

Thirty-eight of MCSD’s 53 schools qualify for schoolwide free lunch, meaning every student at that school may receive a free meal regardless of their family’s income.

These 15 MCSD schools don’t meet the criteria so they don’t offer free meals to every student: Blanchard, Britt David, Clubview, Double Churches, Eagle Ridge, Mathews, Midland and North Columbus elementary schools; Aaron Cohn, Blackmon Road, Midland and Veterans Memorial middle schools; Columbus, Northside and Shaw high schools. But students at those schools may qualify individually for free or reduced-priced meals if their parents or guardians apply.

MCSD is accepting donations from folks who want to help students with deficient accounts pay for their meals, Fuller said.

“There are generous people in our community and all are appreciated,” Fuller said. “School Nutrition would work with school administrators to identify those students that need assistance. However, ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to bring the account current.”

As of 1:13 p.m. Wednesday, MCSD’s School Nutrition Program hadn’t received any donations to pay off its debt, Schlader said.

Donnie Jones, 64, called the Ledger-Enquirer and asked why MCSD throws away the meals that children take but don’t have enough money to pay for in their account.

“There’s no excuse for getting rid of the meal if they’re giving them an alternate meal,” he said. “... It’s a waste of food, and it’s an embarrassment to the child.”

Schlader responded in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer, “We work with both the student and the parents to try to get funds on the account. The meal is not thrown away the first time but when it becomes necessary.”

The director also explained what sparked complaints about this issue now.

“Negative comments have shown up on social media, and it has spread,” Schlader said. “The procedures concerning unpaid meal accounts have not changed. Information on meal charges and alternate meals is included in the School Nutrition section of the Student Handbook, which is given to parents annually.”

This story was originally published February 8, 2017 at 12:36 PM with the headline "‘Alternative lunches’ cause complaints in Muscogee County School District."