This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
05/21/2019 12:00 AMDuring its final meeting of the school year, the Board of Education (BOE) discussed an option that would expand its free meal program to all students, not just those who qualify by income. The board voted to adopt the Community Eligibility Lunch Participation (CELP) starting in the 2019-’20 school year by a 7 to 2 vote.
Through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Community Eligibility Provision, East Have already offers free or reduced lunches to families who qualify. The CELP will allow all students access to one free meal per day, though with an added expense, which through state and federal grants is capped at $69,119 or less to the town.
The May 14 decision will provide all students with one free in-school meal per day. The BOE would provide student breakfasts or lunches through its current food service vendor Sodexo.
According to Sodexo representative Alan Dean, who joined the meeting via conference call, efforts to employ a variable cost to the town rather than a fixed cost over a five-year period were unsuccessful, but he characterized the $69,119 annual cap as a compromise on the state’s part.
Approval of the program will add approximately 70,000 additional meals to school cafeteria workloads, a fact that worried board member Christine Maisano.
“[Dean] was projecting a cost increase of about $90,000 based on projected meals for next year. It’s all in food and supplies and they did not anticipate a need to increased labor,” Forti said.
A motion to approve CELP passed by a vote of 7-2 with the nays coming from Republicans John Finkle, who worried about the financial implications of the program going forward, and Tom Hennessey, who disagreed with the program in general.
“It just rubs me the wrong way that we’re creating a younger generation that thinks everything is free,” Hennessey said.