Free and reduced school lunch numbers rising, districts seeing the need
One true measure of the struggling economy is seeing how many students can’t afford to buy school lunches. The federal government offers a free and reduced lunch program to qualifying students, and more and more of them are signing up.
But signing up takes effort and paperwork, so some school districts are pushing the program more than they have in the past. Instead of sending out a notice about the program at the beginning of the school year, some districts are repeatedly putting reminders in newsletters or even offering incentives like iPod raffles to get families to turn in their paperwork. They know that kids perform better on full stomachs, but they also know that the more kids they sign up for the program, the more money they get from the government. This money usually is just enough to cover the cost of meals and some food service expenses, but other funding, such as federal Title I asssistance and grant money, also depends on what percentage of kids are in the free and reduced lunch program.
Read more about it in today’s story.
Schools these days need to pick up the slack for working women. Today children are exposed to unhealthy environments in school dinning halls. Drinks loaded with sugar and fried foods are causing an outbreak of disease among young Americans. School administrators are often forced or bribed to allow unhealthy foods into schools. We need to get back to basics and keep healthy foods in our schools. We need to stop complaining that the government is doing to much and remember what unethical business people have done to America’s children. We should offer breakfast and lunch at schools free of charge and tax the rich to pay for it. The children are doing their job learning they do this at the behest of employers that want future employees they should be paid at least their expenses.
We asked students to supply tissues, anti-bacterial wipes, and paper and pencils. We already have a 4 day student week, and now have gone to a 4 day staff work week this year. We are taking a serious look at stopping our bussing. We could let 2 bus drivers go, and sell the buses, using the savings to purchase annual passes on public transporttion for each of our students for less than 20% of what we are currently spending. The only hiccup is our Superintendent’s reluctance to RIF staff. That is our last and only option for saving money. Our physical plant does not allow us to handle more than 112 students appropriately, since this is a very small school for at-risk students. Our costs continue to rise, but our state allocation does not, nor do the academic requirements ease up. I wonder where we will be in 2 years…I would argue that our future as an Alternative school for students in trouble with the juvenile justice system is limited. And of course, since we live in Arizona….well, that’s enough said.