Cheese sandwiches have been temporarily yanked from the menu in Edmonds schools.
This morning, Edmonds School District Superintendent Nick Brossoit suspended the district’s policy of taking hot lunch away from students whose parents owe at least $10 in back lunch fees.
Beginning last week, students whose parents owe $10 or more were supposed to be given a cold sandwich and nothing to drink. Because of food safety concerns, the policy mandated that lunchroom cashiers throw away trays of food from students who owe money.
“It was never the district’s intent to have the process result in students being embarrassed or having to discard food,” Brossoit said in an open letter to the Edmonds community. “We are very sorry that this has occurred. While we are working on this, we are temporarily putting on hold the practice of substituting the meal with a sandwich or a muffin if a student does not have enough money in his or her meal account.”
The policy was meant to help recoup $207,763 in unpaid lunch fees from last year.
When school started last week, 2,750 students owed $10 or more. After five days, $45,269 has been repaid from parents of 961 students, according to the district.
Brossoit is inviting parents and school leaders to meet with district staff on Wednesday to review the policy and explore different options. The time and location of the meeting were not immediately available.
People who have questions or would like to participate in the meetings should contact Marla Miller, assistant superintendent for business and operations, at millerM@edmonds.wednet.edu.
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