Student-led boycott at Montgomery Co. High renews controversy over "alternative meal plan," leads to social media storm; superintendent: officials listening, some issues tied to free meals program
Mt. Sterling Advocate, March 16, 2017
MCHS student leading school lunch policy boycott
By Tom Marshall
There has been a student-led boycott this week at Montgomery County High School on the purchase of lunch and ala carte items in protest of the alternative meal plan in place by the school district.
The district has a procedure in place in which a student who reaches an account of a minus $15 will receive the basic or alternative meal. In the case of breakfast that would be a bowl pack cereal/milk for breakfast or a lunch of a cheese sandwich, fruit and milk.
This applies to the high school, which is the only school in the district that does not have free meals.
The alternative meal procedure has been in place for some time and stirred controversy once before when parents complained.
As part of the latest protest, student Jackson Campbell called for the lunch boycott on social media. He asked that the boycott be observed all week. School is to be closed on Friday.
Campbell said he was contacted recently by a number of students who said they had their lunches taken away and replaced by the basic or alternative meal.
“It’s embarrassing and shameful,” Campbell said. “I believe it’s in place to shame them into paying their lunch bill.”
Another school leader, Mackenzie Green, who is vice president of the junior class, said she had been contacted by several students as well and felt as an elected leader it’s her responsibility to speak for them.
Green said it’s her goal to foster a climate where all students are included.
That doesn’t happen when a student is given a tray of food and then has it taken away and replaced with a lesser meal in front of other students she claims.
“It’s hard for a student to have to go through,” Green said. “It’s something that shouldn’t be going on in our schools.”
Campbell claims many of the students involved are those who fall through the cracks: they don’t qualify for free or reduced lunch, but can’t afford to pay every day.
And in some cases, he claims, students are being punished when the responsibility should rest with their parents.
Student leaders have met with the superintendent and other school leaders to discuss possible solutions. Campbell said the student body is asking that the district find solutions quickly with no more shaming or lunches being taken away. They also want more responsibility placed on parents and for the district to eventually find a way to provide free meals for all students, he said.
The boycott received considerable support from the public on social media.
Violet Brown posted, “We went through this several years ago. I think with elementary schools and I thought at that time the school board came up with a way for lunches to be paid for. As a community we need to find a way to remedy this for all concerned.”
Sarah Parkhurst Raper expressed anger.
“This kinda makes me sick to be part of a community that would do that to a child, especially the ones that can’t afford it,” she commented. “With so many kids, the meal they get at school is the only meal they get everyday. This is nothing but sickening.”
Lisa Smith Spencer blamed school officials.
“What is wrong with you school people,” she wrote. “How can you do an innocent child like that. May God have mercy on your souls for doing that to anyone—child or adult.”
Susan Toy Jones posted, “Shameful. You take a good hot lunch from a hungry child in front of his peers just to throw it in the trash and then substitute a cheese sandwich and an apple. Whoever made this policy should be fired immediately, whether it be a school employee or a school board member. What if this happened to your child?”
Under the current school nutrition meal charge procedure families are encouraged to pay in advance for meal and/or ala carte purchases. Parents can receive e-mail notifications through www.mypaymentplus.com of a balance amount of their choice and review the meal history.
When a student’s account is below $5 balance, the cashier provides a reminder note at the point of sale.
The MCHS school nutrition manager then ends an automated message each week when the student’s meal account is below $5. No ala carte items may be purchased or charged by any student whose account is at or below $5 under the procedure.
When the account reaches a $15 deficit, the basic or alternative meal is received. An automated message is then sent to parents informing them of the basic or alternative meal.
The charge procedure notes that the school nutrition program will be reimbursed by the board of education for the cost of the meal items. Various avenues, the procedure states, will be used to collect delinquent debt charges, as deemed necessary.
As of Feb. 1, the total amount of lunch charges district-wide was $18,800, according to the school district.
In response to the recent protest over procedure, a letter from Superintendent Matt Thompson, Director of Nutrition Services Julie Metcalf and MCHS Principal Rock Franz was posted on the district Facebook page addressing the issue.
“Recently, questions and concerns have been raised regarding the school nutrition meal charge procedure at the high school,” the letter states. “We take concerns and feedback from our families, students and community very seriously and always use them to review our current practices and to determine if improvement can be made.”
The letter adds “It is always our goal to treat our students with respect and dignity and we never want any student to feel embarrassed regarding meals at school or to go hungry. The school nutrition dept. and staff work hard to communicate with our families frequently and proactively prior to any student’s lunch account getting to the point of concern.”
The letter then addresses the methods used to notify students and families of low or negative account balances.
The letter also addresses some of the false information that is reportedly being spread in the community.
“One of the misconceptions that we have heard shared is that the high school lunch charges are connected with the school-wide free lunches at the rest of our schools,” the letter states. “This is not true. The calculation to determine whether a school is eligible for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is based upon different types of family assistance that solely on the number of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. We review each school’s numbers towards the end of every school year to determine whether it is possible to add additional schools the following year.”
Thompson told the Advocate that he hopes the district can add the high school in the near future and make free lunch available to all students district-wide.
“However, MCHS’s eligibility will be determined by the rules for calculation and decisions made at the federal level as to whether to continue and fund the CEP program or not,” the letter states.
“In closing, we know that the topic of negative account balances is a tough one,” the letter adds. “It is always our goal to communicate with families in a proactive and helpful way. If you have suggestions on how we can improve in this matter, we encourage you to e-mail one of us.”
Posted: Thursday, March 16, 2017