F176 – UNPAID MEALS

Lunch Charging Procedures

Meal accounts for students should be consistently funded throughout the school year to avoid students needing to charge for a meal. However, the Board recognizes that an occasional emergency may make it necessary to charge for a meal. Families needing assistance to apply for free or reduced lunch should contact the Franklin Township Community School Corporations Director of Child Nutrition.

The Board’s policy and Superintendent’s procedure related to meal charges shall be distributed in writing to all households at the start of each school year and to households transferring to the school or Corporation during the school year. Additionally, the Board’s policy and Superintendent’s procedure related to meal charges shall be distributed to all Corporation staff responsible for policy enforcement, including Corporation food service employees, accounting staff, and all other staff involved in enforcing any aspect of the meal charge policy. This information can also be found in the student handbook or on our website:  ftcsc.org/meal-prices/ .

The Corporation’s meal charging procedure is as follows:

• Significant negative lunch account balances shall not be permitted. A significant negative lunch account balance is any balance owed in excess of $20.00;

• If a student has a negative lunch account balance, the student shall not be permitted to charge any à la carte food or beverage items;

• The school corporation’s point of sale software sends low balance reminders via text and email  every Monday and Wednesday and negative balance reminders on Tuesday and Thursday.  Negative balance letters are also mailed home every Thursday.

• All households have free access to self monitor their students’ account through the Child Nutrition Department’s online payment system.

• Unpaid meal balances may be turned over to collections at the end of each semester.

Families may deposit money into students’ meal accounts using the Child Nutrition Department’s online payment system with a debit or credit card.  Cash and check payments are accepted in the schools

The superintendent may develop administrative guidelines to implement this policy.

Inactive Lunch Accounts

At the end of the school year, inactive accounts (withdrawn or graduated students) with a negative balance of (-$20.00) or greater will be included in the “Collections of Unpaid Debt” process. A request for refund on positive accounts will be granted with a written request within 30 days of the end of year or 30 days after the date the student leaves the district. After 30 days, inactive account balances are closed and zeroed out. The balance is receipted back into the “Donation Account”.

Franklin Township Community School Corporation 

Adopted: 1/09/23

Revised: