Superintendent proposes pay-as-you-go lunch policy, recommends writing off about $11,000 in bad debt

Superintendent Jason Weber recommended the Valdez City School District adopt a pay-as-you-go approach to school lunches and proposed closing out about $11,000 in bad debt tied to students who no longer attend district schools.

"My recommendation is that we close out the bad debt," Weber said, referring to balances accumulated by former students, and noted the district would attempt to collect what it could from current students. He described the proposed administrative regulation as a move away from accumulating debt toward requiring a positive lunch balance to receive meals.

Weber said transitioning families to the new system will be difficult and that the district will communicate changes to parents over the summer. He also noted the policy committee and administration had worked on two administrative regulations addressing student lunch debt and ongoing management of the lunch program.

The board did not adopt the administrative regulation at the meeting; Weber framed the plan as a recommendation for action during the coming fiscal year and said the district will attempt collection for current students while removing balances of former students from the books.

The recommendation included the financial detail of roughly $11,000 in bad debt to be written off; Weber said that some remaining current balances might be several years old but are associated with students still enrolled and the district will pursue collection where appropriate.