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Paynesville schools told they are no longer eligible for summer food program; administrators seek answers
Summary
District administrators told the board they were notified the Paynesville Public School District is no longer eligible to provide the federally funded summer food service program despite an increase in students qualifying for free and reduced-price meals; administrators said they have requested clarification from state officials.
The Paynesville Public School District board heard during its administrative report that the district has been notified it is no longer eligible to provide the federally funded summer food service program, a development administrators said could affect families that rely on the meals.
“We received notification that our summer food service program, we are no longer eligible to provide our summer food service program,” said Janelle, the district administrator, reporting information the district received the previous day. She said district staff have asked the state for an explanation of the determination and are communicating with families about next steps. “It’s a little unknown right now,” she said.
Janelle told the board the district’s direct-certification counts used for free and reduced-price meals had increased from the 2021–22 child count of 247 to 278 this year, and said the district is perplexed that the eligibility determination would change given that increase. She said the district is concerned the reviewing agency may have used application-form counts rather than direct certification when making the decision.
The administrator placed the issue in the broader budget context, noting proposals in the governor’s budget related to special-education funding and a growing state-level focus on the “cross subsidy” that shifts local dollars to cover unmet special-education costs. Janelle said the governor’s proposal increases funding for cross-subsidy reduction aid from $250 million to $300 million and that she plans to raise local concerns with legislators.
Board members did not take formal action on the summer-food determination during the meeting; Janelle said the district has submitted follow-up questions to the agency and will report back to the board when more information is available.
Next steps: district staff will pursue clarification from the state agency about the eligibility criteria used in the decision and will notify families as more information arrives.
