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Director candidate backs districtwide Community Eligibility Provision despite potential Title funding trade-offs
Summary
During a Coffee County Board of Education interview, Dr. Crabtree said she would support implementing the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) systemwide after researching effects on attendance and student outcomes, while noting the district could lose some Title funding and would seek compensating gains through attendance-related bonuses.
Dr. Crabtree, principal of Hickerson Elementary and a candidate for Coffee County director of schools, told the school board she would support implementing the federal Community Eligibility Provision, or CEP, systemwide after reviewing research and local trade-offs.
"Ultimately, everyone wants to feed our children for free," Dr. Crabtree said. "After researching this program, I've decided yes, I would support this program. It may, we may take a hit in Title funding for doing this program, but after research, I found that No Kid Hungry and the Center for Best Practices showed that the likelihood of students increased with feeding them. They would have improved student outcomes, increased attendance, and increased likelihood of passing through this tenth grade."
She said the district could recoup some funding through improved attendance and state incentives such as TESA bonuses tied to student outcomes and attendance. Dr. Crabtree described the decision as one that should be made only after research and planning to understand budget impacts.
Why it matters: CEP is a federal option that allows qualifying schools to provide free meals to all students. Districts often weigh direct benefits to students—reduced food insecurity and improved attendance—against indirect financial effects on Title and other need-based allocations.
Dr. Crabtree emphasized research-based benefits and recommended a district-level review before committing to systemwide adoption. She pointed specifically to external research and advocates (No Kid Hungry; Center for Best Practices) as informing her view that universal meal access can improve attendance and academic outcomes.
Details and context: Dr. Crabtree said the district should evaluate the net budget effect before universal adoption and monitor whether attendance and achievement improvements offset any reductions in Title funding. She proposed engaging principals and central office staff to examine effects on school budgets and Title allocations, and to communicate the trade-offs clearly to stakeholders.
Ending: The board conducted this interview as part of its director search; no decision on CEP adoption was made during the session. Dr. Crabtree said she would support further study and planning for any systemwide rollout.
