“Courtesy meals” are now a thing of the past for students with negative lunch account balances at Seward Public Schools.
The SPS Board of Education revised the school lunch policy, number 3012, at its Jan. 9 meeting.
The change comes following a slew of parent and student complaints after a Sodexo employee threw away a high school student’s meal Dec. 15 because the student’s lunch account balance was more than $20 in the red.
Sodexo is the third-party company that provides food service in the schools.
The scene, which allegedly included loud, negative remarks from the employee, led other students and parents to post on social media, expressing anger that the student was treated disrespectfully and that perfectly good food went to waste.
One parent attended the board meeting, but no one spoke during the public comment period.
“(The board) made the decision to strike the language that they will provide an alternate meal,” District Superintendent Dr. Josh Fields said following the meeting. “Everyone will get the regular meal, regardless of their account status, so kids wouldn’t have to go through the embarrassment if their account is negative.”
Previously, the policy allowed students to receive a “plain sandwich” as a courtesy if their balance fell negative by $20 or more. Students still may not purchase items a la carte with a negative balance.
A letter emailed to parents on Jan. 10 said moving forward, Sodexo cashiers will inform students if their meal will be charged as a full meal or if some “extra” items will be charged as a la carte. Students will be informed of a la carte charges before making their purchase.
“We asked Sodexo to do training with all their employees on how to talk to students,” Fields said.
SPS sends notes and Alert Now messages to let parents know about negative lunch account balances.
Fields said the district has used E-Funds for Schools since 2017, a program through which parents can set low balance notifications and automatically transfer money into their student’s lunch account instead of sending cash or check. The E-Funds option is available on the school website.
