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Tahlequah schools report shortfall in child-nutrition operations while keeping meals free under CEP
Summary
The district’s child-nutrition director told the school board the program ran a deficit for the year but used a $707,000 carryover to continue offering free meals to students under the Community Eligibility Provision. School leaders raised concerns about a Chartwells contract guarantee and possible federal funding delays.
Lacey Wilson, the district’s director of federal programs who oversees child nutrition, told the Tahlequah Public Schools Board of Education on July 27 that the child-nutrition program served hundreds of thousands of meals this year but spent about $83,000 more than it received in reimbursements.
Wilson said the program’s revenue for the year was $2,665,000 and the Chartwells invoice for food and services totaled $2,159,645.85. She said the child-nutrition carryover available to the program is $707,000, and she used some of that fund to cover the shortfall this year.
Why it matters: The district participates in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows schools that meet a direct-certification threshold to provide breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students. Wilson said Tahlequah’s direct-certification rate is 53.98 percent, which translates under the formula the district uses to…
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