Households are encouraged to deposit money into meal accounts in advance of meal service via the online payment system in Skyward Family Access, or payments can also be made in person at the building via cash, check or credit card. Automatic phone calls and emails notify the families daily when account balances are low. Payment to cover the cost of an a la carte purchase or adult meal must be in the patron’s account or provided at the time of purchase.

Households can choose the option for automatic payments in Skyward Family Access. A pre-selected amount will be charged to the card on file, when the meal account balance reaches a specified threshold.

A charge account for students paying full or reduced price for meals may be established with the district. Students may not charge past a zero balance to this account. Charging of a la carte or extra items to this account will not be permitted. 

Any student failing to keep a charge account solvent as required by this policy shall not be allowed to charge further meals until the negative account balance has been paid in full. However, such students will be allowed to purchase a meal if the student pays for the meal when it is received. Students who have a negative balance and cannot pay out of pocket for a meal will be provided an alternate meal consisting of a peanut butter or deli meat sandwich, fruit, vegetable, and milk and assessed a $0.45 fee per alternate meal served. Care will be taken by staff members requesting and distributing any alternate meals per this policy to do so discreetly, while protecting the privacy of the student and the student’s parent or guardian regarding negative account balances. When providing an alternate meal, district staff will provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities with special dietary needs.

The district will provide a copy of this unpaid meal charges policy to all households at or before the start of school each year and to families and students that transfer into the district at the time of transfer. The terms of this policy will also be communicated to all district staff responsible for enforcing any aspect of the policy, a copy of the policy will be posted in district meal service facilities, and the policy will be made available on the district’s website. Records of how and when it is communicated to households and staff will be retained.