ATHENS, Ala. — It's the end of another school year. Now, some schools are left with a serious reality, and that's counting the cost of unmet student lunch balances. FOX54 spoke with East Limestone High School's Cafeteria Manager Rhonnia Johnson who explained that these balances have to be met.
East Limestone High School and Creekside Elementary have the highest unmet lunch debt amounts in the Limestone County School System. Johnson says, "We have several accounts that are unpaid. We have sent out emails all month long to let parents know that these accounts have not been met. The accounts have to be paid somehow, someway, they have to be met. They can't go into the negative continuing into next year because then it would just be a snowball effect of continuing to stay negative."
One key thing to keep in mind is that no student is turned away or denied a meal due to an unpaid lunch balance. "They will always receive a meal, which can include anything that is being served for that day. They're not allowed to get anything extra like our a la carte items or if they wanted extra pizza or something along those lines. But no child will ever walk away and be told that they didn't get offered a meal, even with a negative account."
Johnson continued that sometimes there can be several reasons why these balances have not been met. "When I send out an email, maybe it's not getting to them. You know, depending on the account balance, I make phone calls, I leave messages. There's also a lot of people do not know that they can apply for assistance any time during the school year. If you get on hard times, then apply."
So what initiative is the school system taking to assist with this type of instance? "We get donations that we can apply to children's account to try to offset anything. And then if there's anything left over at that point, then it's discussed between the school and central office on how to handle things."
West Limestone High School is also dealing with an accumulation of lunch debts. They are asking families and neighbors to help offset nearly $600 in lunch debt by making donations. Those interested can do so by leaving a donation at the front office or directly to the school's "John Doe" account. Click here for more information.