Education
Alpine School District implements new meal charge policy
Starting this year, Alpine School District will be implementing a new meal change policy to provide students and parents with the best possible service and accountability for school meals.
All students will be provided a regular school meal until their account reaches a balance of negative $15. Once the balance reaches negative $15, complimentary food items will be provided. Complimentary food items include a fruit cup and carton of 1% milk for breakfast, and a cheese sandwich and carton of 1% milk for lunch. The complimentary food items will continue to be provided until a payment has been made to bring the balance above the negative $15.
For elementary schools in ASD, the nutrition services kitchen team will inform students when receiving their meal that funds are gone and they are charging a meal. After that, charge notice letters will be printed weekly by the kitchen team for all students who owe $1 or more. These letters will be sent home with the student.
When a student owes $5 or more, the kitchen team will call the parents of the student. The nutrition services office will send a collection warning letter to the parents of students who have reached the negative balance of $15, as an additional reminder that a payment is due, before the account is sent to a collections agency.
For secondary schools (junior highs and high schools), the nutrition services kitchen team will inform students when they receive their meal that their funds are getting low ($5 or less). A courtesy phone call will then be made by the kitchen when a student owes $5 or more. Charge notice letters will be printed weekly and mailed to the home of the student when they owe $10 or more. Once a student reaches the $15 charge limit, charge notices will be sent to patrons by the nutrition services office requesting a payment. If the payment is not received, the account will be sent to a collections agency.
To make prompt payments easier, ASD uses a service called “MyPaymentsPlus,” a secure online payment system for meal payments and other school money transactions. The website provides an easy-to-use and efficient way to make payments quickly and securely. In most instances, payments are posted immediately but may take up to 24 hours to post to the student account.
MyPaymentsPlus is a free service, and in addition to making payments, the website may be used to view student account balances, payment history, set up automatic payments, and to set up account balance alerts. Parents may simply log on to www.mypaymentsplus.com to register.
Alpine School District is also using a new website that allows parents and students to see what is on the school menu every day. The website alpineschools.nutrislice.com provides an image and description of each food item on the menu as well and nutrient and allergen information. It is also available as a mobile app.
