School Meals Charge Policy
School Meals Charge Policy
Purpose and Goals:
The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent meal account procedures. The goals of this policy are:
- To ensure that all students have a healthy meal and that no child goes hungry.
- To treat all students with dignity and confidentiality in the serving line.
- To support positive and clear communication among staff, administrators, teachers, students and parents/guardians.
- To establish fair practices that can be used for all meal accounts.
- To encourage parents/guardians to assume the responsibility of meal payments.
- To establish a consistent practice regarding charges and collection of charges.
Scope of School Responsibility:
- Maintain meal account records.
- Notify parents/guardians of outstanding balances by phone, email, text, and/or mail.
- Communicate with parents/guardians on collection of outstanding balances.
- Provide a means for parents/guardians to make meal account payments through mail, school office, or online.
Parent/Guardian:
- Maintain a positive balance in your children’s meal accounts.
- Apply for free or reduced price meal benefits to avoid an outstanding balance. Application for meal benefits can be made at any time during the school year.
- Contact Banner County School to resolve any issues with your children’s meal accounts.
Policy, Payment Options, and Procedures:
- No PK-12 students will be denied a meal due to an outstanding balance. All menu items will be offered.
- Meal payments can be mailed or paid at the school office with no associated fees, or payments can be made online at e~Funds for Schools which includes a transaction fee.
- If a family has a meal account with an outstanding balance of $25 or more, the parent/guardian will be mailed monthly requests for payment until the account has a positive balance.
- In the middle of May, all parents/guardians who have accounts with an outstanding balance will be sent a written request for prompt “Payment in Full.”
- Seniors must pay all charges before attending graduation.
- In the middle of June, all parents/guardians who have accounts with an outstanding balance will be contacted by phone or mail to make arrangements to have the balance “Paid in Full.”