Final Vote On Cherry Hill School Lunch Policy Set

CHERRY HILL, NJ — After an outcry from members of the public, the Cherry Hill Public School District Board of Education approved a proposal to change its existing policy concerning school lunch debt on introduction Tuesday night. A public hearing and final vote on the policy is expected at the Oct. 15 meeting.

The current policy calls for students to be served a tuna fish sandwich lunch if they owe $10, and to be denied school lunch altogether if they owe more than $20. Although that was never enforced, the policy would be changed altogether if the revisions are given final approval.

Instead, students who owe $10 or more in back lunch pay would be served the meal of the day, but would be restricted when it came to a la carte items.

As a last resort, students who are in debt would also be banned from some extracurricular activities, including prom and non-educational field trips, according to Cherry Hill Public School District spokeswoman Barbara Wilson.

A section of the policy that said students wouldn't be permitted to walk in the commencement ceremony at the end of the year has been removed, Wilson said on Wednesday.

The district will continue to work with families who find themselves falling behind in paying school lunches, Smith said.

Currently, parents are sent a letter by mail every 10 days they have a lunch debt. That timeline would change, but it was unclear what the new timeline would be.

Phone calls are also made, but no emails are sent to parents. The letters inform parents how to apply for payment plans and free/reduced lunches. Parents can apply for free/reduced lunches at any point during the year, officials said previously.

The district will also continue to work with any family that makes a good faith effort to pay their delinquent lunch bill. An in-person meeting will be held if the debt exceeds $75.

Read more here: Changes Possible For ‘Inhumane’ Cherry Hill School Lunch Policy

In August, Assistant Superintendent Lynn Shugars suggested the district needed to start following the policy of not providing lunch for students who were more than $20 in debt. The policy has been in place since 2017, but the district never adhered to it.

Shugars said enforcement was needed to prevent what is currently a $14,000 debt in unpaid meals gets even deeper. Critics of the policy called it "inhumane."

The board will next meet on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 7 p.m. at the Mahlberg Administration Building, 45 Ranoldo Terrace in Cherry Hill.

Read more here: Students Who Owe Money May Be Denied Lunch In Cherry Hill Schools