News

Unpaid lunch debt piles up in Claremont again

By GLYNIS HART
[email protected]
CLAREMONT — Claremont students’ unpaid food service debt reached $21,000 this week, even after community fundraising efforts earlier this semester paid off $32,000 owed from last year. 

Assistant Superintendent Cory LeClair told the board that people have continued to donate money to cover unpaid lunch debt. She asked the board to vote to accept new donations of around $150 but reminded them they had previously voted to send late donations to the local food shelves. 

Board member Michele Pierce suggested it be split 50/50 between food service and other school needs. 

“These people have donated this money to food service and I think it should stay with the food,” said board member Carolyn Towle. 

Many board members felt continuing to accept community donations for students’ accounts was a bad policy. 

“We can’t keep accepting donations; there should be a cutoff date,” said board member Michael Petrin. “We can’t just keep bailing people out.” 

“They get very used to that, and it can’t be our course of action,” said Towle. 

“If we continue to accept these donations, for lack of a better term we create a welfare state,” said Jason Benware. “The idea that people are too proud to fill out the paperwork doesn’t sit well with me; why aren’t they then too proud to owe someone money?” 

Interim Superintendent Keith Pfeifer said the district had sent two letters to parents reminding them of their responsibility to pay for their children’s food. 

LeClair said she had walked through the school and talked to some of the students and she thinks it’s possible that a lot of parents don’t actually know their kids are in debt. One student, for instance, had two lunches on the table: one from home, and one from the à la carte cafeteria selection. “I get hungry,” the student told her. 

“As of Dec. 14, last Friday, there were 540 negative accounts,” said LeClair. “Only 13.39 percent were families who were eligible for free and reduced price lunch last year, who had not reapplied. The bulk are full-pay status. Including some staff.

“At least several families had no idea they had debt,” said LeClair. LeClair said she had talked with the accounts manager at the Abby Group, the contractor that administers the food service.

“Students are still purchasing à la carte that have debt, and I don’t think they should be able to,” she said. Current practice is to cut off the à la carte option once the account is $20 in arrears. 

Petrin suggested doing away with à la carte altogether, but Finance Director Mike O’Neill explained that’s not how it works; students can buy regular lunch items à la carte. One student’s regular lunch may be à la carte for another. 

New school board member Rob Lovett asked if there’s an app whereby parents can check on their children’s lunch account. There is, LeClair said. “I encourage all parents to download the app.” 

Pierce asked twice why the board was debating something that should properly be for administration to decide. “Our job is to set policy,” she said. 

Board member Rebecca Zullo offered to put the school lunch debt issue to the policy committee. 

Meanwhile, the board voted to cut off à la carte for students with a zero balance, as of now. In addition, they asked Pfeifer to look into whether Abby Group’s contract has a do-not-compete clause that would affect the vending machines for Powerade drinks. Senior classmen with debt that could interfere with their getting a diploma will be warned, and the district will consult with legal counsel about more steps to be taken to collect the debt. 

“I’d like to give families a chance to respond to the letter we just sent out,” said LeClair.

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