To: Parents and Students:
Date: September 26, 2017
RE: School Lunch Program
I am writing to encourage every parent/guardian who has not already completed a Meal/Milk Free and Reduced Application to do so. Applications can be completed online at http://www.msad11.org/foodservice or a hardcopy provided by Linda Sergent, Director of Student Nutrition. Our data shows there are many students who are eligible for Meals/Milk Free and Reduced Program who are not accessing it.
A growing number of student lunch accounts are going unpaid, making it necessary for the district to implement a new practice regarding school lunch accounts at Gardiner Regional Middle School and Gardiner Area High School. Middle school and high school students are no longer allowed to charge meals to their student lunch account once the account overdrawn by $10, or more. In addition, students whose accounts are not in good standing are not allowed to charge items from the a la carte menu.
While it is paramount that the District’s students receive breakfast and lunch, it is also important that the District addresses the increasing number of student lunch accounts with a negative balance. At the end of the 2016 – 2017 school year, student lunch accounts in the negative totaled more than $6,000 district wide. It is our hope that by allowing students to charge no more than $10 beyond the account balance, it will allow students additional time to replenish the funds in their lunch account while still providing the student a meal. While cashiers try to remind students when they notice a lunch account is getting low, parents may log into www.myschoolbucks.com to view their student’s lunch account 24/7. On the MySchoolBucks website, parents can view the account balance as well as daily purchases on the account. On the website, parents also have the option of adding funds to the student’s lunch account. To add funds, however, parents will need the student’s ID number. Please feel free to call me or ask the student for this number.
Families, whose financial situation may have changed, are able to complete Free & Reduced Meal Applications at any time during the school year. Parents who prefer to complete the Free & Reduced Meal Application online in the privacy of their home can do so at www.heartlandapps.com/District.
Sincerely,
Linda Sergent
Director of Student Nutrition
(207) 582-5346