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Vice president drafts letter opposing Ways and Means changes to Community Eligibility; board discusses outreach
Summary
Vice President Faye Gogler told the board she drafted a letter urging Representative Joyce and five Pennsylvania members of the House Ways and Means Committee to avoid changes to the Community Eligibility Provision; board members discussed signatures, outreach and noted the district's high free-and-reduced percentage.
Faye Gogler, the board vice president, told the Chambersburg Area School District Board on Jan. 28 that she had drafted a letter to Representative Joyce expressing concern about proposals under consideration by the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee that could change the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). Gogler said she planned to send the letter to Representative Joyce and copy five Pennsylvania members of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Gogler described the rationale for contacting lawmakers: the district had planned to expand CEP to cover secondary students in addition to elementary students, and changes at the federal level could reduce or delay that expansion. "Dear Representative Joyce, my name is Faye Gogler, and I'm the vice president... and then I went into the community eligibility provision," she told the board while summarizing the letter's opening and its focus on student nutrition and well-being.
Board members discussed whether to add additional board signatures and whether to circulate the letter before sending. One board member offered to sign the letter; another urged board members to also contact representatives directly through their offices. A participant noted that the district's free-and-reduced eligibility rate is currently about 58–60 percent, underscoring the potential local impact of federal changes. Gogler said she had shared the draft with district administration and would forward it to fellow board members for review.
No formal board vote was taken on the letter; the discussion was recorded as new business and direction to the vice president to circulate and pursue signatures as appropriate.
