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YATESVILLE — Students in the Pittston Area School District who have a balance due of more than $20 on their school lunch account as of Sept. 26 will be provided with an alternative meal.
Parents of students were notified of the directive Wednesday via the school’s Skylert notification system. The current Negative School Lunch Policy states any student who has had a negative balance for three or more lunches would be provided an alternate meal.
According to Pittston Area Solicitor Sam Falcone, the district’s food service department notified administration of the almost $700 of debt piling up from school lunches. The department asked permission to send out the voicemail to remind students of their obligations to their school lunch accounts.
The policy was instituted in April 2014 and has not changed since. The alternative meals consist of the choice of a ham-and-cheese sandwich or cheese-only sandwich, a fruit of the day, vegetable of the day and a milk.
Falcone said the decision had been made internally to relax the policy because students and parents may not have been aware of it. The school did not want students surprised by this when they came to school the next day.
“They wanted students to have some time,” he said.
Booth said he got the request from the department last week and he was notified about the situation. He said the permission for the message came from him and the reason it was sent out was because the school needed to drop the debt.
“This was more of a reminder that the policy exists and to try an get some money back if we can,” he said.
Food Service Director Stephen Marcin was not aware of the message being sent out and learned about it Thursday morning. Marcin noted the $20 allows more leniency for students. Three school lunches at Pittston Area equals $7.20, far short of $20.
“I learned about it today,” Marcin said Thursday of the voice message sent to parents. “I don’t know who made the final decision (to send the message).”
Officials unaware
The Pennsylvania Department of Education requires all schools to clear the negative lunch balance after each school year to avoid those debts reaching insurmountable heights.
The voicemail was also news to board member Rosanne Ricotta. Ricotta was aware of the current policy, and agreed it doesn’t state anything about a $20 charge. She did say the policy was not enforced over the past couple years and “it’s reared its head again.”
“They had no business sending that out without discussing it with the board,” Ricotta said. “We did not discuss this at all.”
Board member Joe Kelly was also not aware of the voicemail.
According to a Times Leader story in April 2014, the Pittston Area School Board voted to accept an “alternative lunch policy” where a student who hasn’t paid for three or more lunches would be given an alternate lunch. Those children would not be allowed to purchase ala carte menu items, including snacks, while carrying a negative account balance.
Booth formulated the policy back in 2014 and said at that time the school board analyzed nearly two dozen other district policies, and noted one even denied students a lunch.
Two letters were sent home that year, and the debt of student lunches dropped from $60,000 to $35,000 in a few short weeks. Prior to 2014, the policy was that students who owed money would be given a regular lunch, and the cost would be added to their account, creating a negative balance.
Parents unhappy
Some Pittston Area parents are unhappy about the voice message.
Lisa Zurek, who has a student in second grade, said if the district is going to continuing charging meals to the student’s account, why not just give them a hot meal?
“I’m floored that we even have to have a conversation about it,” Zurek said. “It’s a basic human need.”
Zurek’s son bags his lunch most times. The other day, she said, her son told her that a fellow student asked for some of his food because he had no money.
Zurek said she understands the stigma that students who receive free lunches may have to endure.
According to Pittston Area’s website, students qualify for free or reduced lunch if the household size is one and the yearly salary is just below $22,000. The chart goes up to a household size of eight with a yearly salary of just over $75,000.
Zurek also has an issue with the alternative meals.
“No way can that be filling,” she said.
At the high school and middle school, a regular lunch costs $2.40, while a reduced lunch is $0.40 per day. At the intermediate center and primary center, regular lunches are $2.30, with reduced lunches priced at $0.40.
The Wyoming Area School District currently offers the same policy as Pittston Area. Both school districts reiterate that no child will be denied a lunch.