North Sanpete School District
Unpaid Meal Charge Standard Procedures

May 29, 2017

Purpose and Background

The National School Lunch and National School Breakfast are federal programs in which all of the schools in North Sanpete School District participate. In doing so our district receives partial reimbursement for meals served to students who do not qualify for free meals. Parents must make payments to a student’s meal account to make up the difference between the federal reimbursement and the cost of the meal. This standard procedure only applies to school meal payments.

The purpose of this standard procedure is to explain how North Sanpete School District will notify parents/guardians about: money owed for student meals; school procedures for providing meals if students accounts are delinquent; and to assure and remind parents and school employees that students should not be confronted or made to feel uncomfortable about money owed for school meals.

This standard procedure applies to all schools in the North Sanpete School District.

Definitions

1. Alternate Meal: A meal served to a student, which is different than the meals served to other students because the student has a delinquent meal account. The meal will consist of a sandwich and milk, allowing the student to have something to eat while limiting the cost to the school nutrition program.
2. Collection Efforts: A means that the school uses to collect delinquent lunch balances, or contact made to parents by phone, mail, or e-mail.
3. Meal Charging: Allowing students who do not have funds in their meal account to receive a reimbursable meal, with parents or other sources paying for these meals at a later time.
4. Reimbursable Meal: A meal, which meets the USDA requirements and may be claimed for reimbursement from USDA.
5. Free Meal: A meal served to a student whose parents have qualified, based on federal standards, for free meals. This meal receives the highest federal rate of reimbursement. The meal is served at no cost to the student.
6. Reduced-Price Meal: A meal served to a student whose parents qualify based on income eligibility to pay a reduced price for student meals. The federal rate of reimbursement for this meal is less than a free meal, but more than a paid meal. The cost of this meal is $0.40 for Lunch and $0.30 for Breakfast.
7. Paid Meal: A meal served to a student whose parents have not applied or otherwise qualified for reduced-price or free meals. This meal receives the lowest amount of federal reimbursement. The parent must pay the meal prices established by the North Sanpete School District Board of Education.
8. Parent: Student’s parent, legal guardian or person acting as the parent for school purposes.

Notification Process

Before school begins or if a student transfers to a school in the North Sanpete School District during the school year, parents shall receive the following information from the student’s resident school or the North Sanpete School District Office:

• Prices of school meals.
• Information regarding how to provide payment for school meals.
• Information regarding how their student(s) may qualify for reduced-price or free meals.
• Information regarding what food/meal their student(s) will receive if their meal account is delinquent.
• Information regarding the Standard Procedure for delinquent accounts.

AN ACCOUNT IS CONSIDERED DELINQUENT, IF THERE ARE THREE MEAL CHARGES.

Policy Components

North Sanpete School District shall provide online applications for free/reduced-price meals to parents. Computers are available for parental use at all schools or in the North Sanpete School District Office. Any questions can be directed to Karen Seely, North Sanpete School District Food Service Supervisor at (435) 462-2485.

The North Sanpete School District Office will provide paper applications for parents who do not have access to online forms.

Schools are encouraged to send reminders of the Unpaid Meal Charge Standard Procedure throughout the school year. It may be in the form of letters, newsletters, announcements, phone calls or other reasonable and effective means of communication to contact parents.

The student’s family may receive benefits from the Special Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, FEP, or FDPIR. When the school receives notice of the student’s or family’s eligibility the household qualifies for meals at no charge. The household qualifying from the Special Nutrition Assistance Program does not have to submit a free/reduced-price application. The North Sanpete School District will send the household a letter informing parents of the student’s eligibility. If a family qualifies under one of these programs and has not received such a letter by the time school starts, the parent should contact the North Sanpete School District Food Service Supervisor, Karen Seely by phone at: (435) 462-2485 or by email karen.seely@nsanpete.org.

Identification of Delinquent Accounts

1. School Nutrition Cashiers at each school will handle all accounting of school meal payments including the management of charging and crediting student meal accounts.
2. Parents will be notified of delinquent meal accounts.
3. The School Nutrition Cashier will notify parents about delinquent accounts. Notification will typically be by phone call, text or e-mail to communicate with parents on how they wish to make payments.
4. Students may take notifications home in a sealed envelope, addressed to the parent.
5. If the student’s meal account is delinquent there are three options available:

• Parent may make payment before meal service begins.
• Parent may bring the student a meal from home.
• Student may take the alternate meal provided by the school nutrition service.
• If the school nutrition staff has not received direction from the parent, the student, prior to meal service, will be contacted about the action the school will take. The staff will act as sensitively and discretely as possible so as not to make the student feel uncomfortable.
• The school is not required to provide a meal, at no cost, if a student is not qualified for free meals.

  6. If a student repeatedly has no money in their school meal account and no meals are provided from home, school officials may consider the circumstances

      in the home and may contact Child Protective Services.

Parent Payment Options for Student Meals:

1. Parents may get payments to the school by mail, hand delivery, or by using our online payment option at: https://secure3.myschoolfees.com/start_v2.aspx
2. Payments may be made with cash, check, cashier’s check, money orders or by credit card if “MySchoolFees” is used.
3. If excess funds are left in a students school meal account at the conclusion of the school year, funds will be refunded if the total is more than or equal to a paid meal.

• If a check is returned due to insufficient funds two times from the same account, only cash or cashier’s check will be accepted for future meal payments.
• If the funds left in the student’s meal account is less than the amount equal to a paid meal, the student or parent may request a refund.
• If a refund is over $20.00 the student will be required to sign for it.
• Any uncollected funds will be donated to the North Sanpete Child Nutrition Program.