Meal Charge and Collection Procedures

The following steps will be followed to collect outstanding balances incurred by student charges.

Proactive Measures

• Provide access to the free and reduced price meal program and provide help, when needed, completing the application.
• Encourage parents/guardians to enroll in My School Bucks to set up notification alerts and view account balances.
• Send monthly district-wide phone messages reminding parents of positive low balances.

Students will not be denied a meal unless a parent/guardian has provided written permission to withhold the meal. However, once a negative balance is reached, students are not permitted to charge a la carte purchases.

Negative Balance Procedure

STEP 1: When a negative balance is reached, an email is sent to parents/guardians that have an email address in the district database.  If no email is available, a letter is sent home via US Postal Service. At the elementary, a sealed letter is sent home with student in the backpack at the end of each week.

STEP 2: When a negative balance reaches $20.00 or more and remains unpaid, parents/guardians may be contacted by district personnel in order to collect fund.

STEP 3: When a negative balance reaches $50.00 or more, a certified letter is sent home via US Postal Service indicating options for payment plans, includes a free and reduced price meal applicationand the possibility of magistrate involvement.

STEP 4: When a negative balance reaches $75.00 or more, parents/guardians may be contacted by the guidance departments and/or building principal and district personnel conducts a home visit.

Parent/guardians are responsible for the maintenance of their student account balances. Payments may be made electronically at myschoolbucks.com, or by cash or check. Checks returned from the bank for insufficient funds will be assessed a $35 fee.

If a payment is not received, additional steps may include (but are not limited to): Parent conference, and/or referral to  Social Service.