School menus and spellcheck

Comment: It would be nice to see the school menus have correct spelling. Yogurt is spelled incorrectly on the breakfast menu and lettuce and pizzeria are on the lunch menu incorrectly. Just an observation.

Lunch options

Comment: You should serve the mashed potato bowl every day as an additional option instead of the chicken patty. If pizza is considered a vegetable, then the mashed potato bowl should be considered a healthy alternative.

Answer: Thanks for your comment. I'm assuming you're referring to a story from November, which reported that Congress apparently declared pizza to be a vegetable, as far as the federal school lunch program is concerned. Although the issue in Congress turned out to be about tomato paste, not pizza, that's besides the point.

Broadalbin-Perth, like public school districts nationwide, must follow federal guidelines for school lunches that are laid out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Those guidelines are scheduled to change next school year to include more "real" vegetables and a greater variety of healthy foods.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of Schools

Charging for school lunches

Question: I went to the freshman orientation today and was curious why the school board would adopt a policy saying there will be no charged lunches for students. So, what are they supposed to do if a child forgets his or her money/lunch or the parents forget to send money? Do you make them starve? I know at the middle school it came in handy twice to be able to charge when my child forget their money and I could not drive from Albany to bring it to them. I think it is wrong you do not allow them to charge for an emergency.

Answer: First, this is NOT a Board of Education policy. However, the board has encouraged me to collect outstanding charges through small claims court, if necessary, as a result of abuse of the system. In the past, the district has ended up with around $5,000 of unpaid charges each year.

Free and reduced-price school lunch

Question: Just wondering why "reduced lunches" never seem to increase in price, but yet the normal lunch cost for students increases every year by at least 10 cents? What exactly is the purpose for reduced lunches anyhow? I would imagine that most, if not all, eligible for reduced (or free?!) lunches qualify for food stamps - so why not force the parents to take the time to prepare their children's lunches at least several times per week? I would like to see "reduced lunches" minimized to a certain number of eligible lunches during the school year, perhaps 50-60 total lunches. Maybe the cost of lunches for those that pay full price could be reduced if there weren't so many getting it reduced on a daily basis. Seems that those who work hard for their money never catch a break, whereas those that get help are always getting something for free!

Answer: The first thing you should know is that the free and reduced-price school meals program is a federal program, so a lot of the ideas you have regarding change can't be addressed by the district under the current legislation.

For the 2010-11 school year, the cost of our regular lunch is $2 in the elementary schools and $2.35 in the middle and high school. When we increase the prices of our school meals, it's because the cost of food went up.