VIENNA — The Maries R-1 Board of Education at its May 21 meeting voted to adopt a new policy for students with negative meal balances.

Before the meeting, the district’s meal charge policy prohibited students who owed more than $12 for meals from charging additional items other than breakfast or lunch meals. Under the new policy, students who owe more than $12 for meals cannot charge for additional items other than breakfast or lunch meals and students who owe more than $60 for meals will receive a full tray at lunch, but the main entree will be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Superintendent Teresa Messersmith said the $60 figure is equal to about one month’s worth of lunches. Students who have an account balance exceeding it will still get fruits, vegetables or whatever else comes with a day’s meal, but they will no longer have the choice of entree. Messersmith said she liked the change from taking away the sides to taking away the entree options because it does not single out students with outstanding balances. Peanut butter and jelly is an entree option offered daily to all students.

The policy preventing high school seniors who owe money on their meal balances from participating in the graduation ceremony remains the same, but the administration plans to move it closer to the rest of the lunch policy in the next revision of the school handbook.

When discussion of the policy began, Board President Dave Long asked how much the district lost on lunch balances last school year. Messersmith estimated the number was around $4,000 though that is after an anonymous donor covered $8,000 in missing meal money.

Board member Denise Wilkinson asked if the cafeteria staff would know in advance who would not receive the entree each day. Her concern was that food would go to waste if students could not receive entrees because of their account balances.

“I just don’t want to see that,” she said. “If this is the only meal the kids are getting, which I suspect it is, I just struggle with not taking care of the kids.”

Board member Matt Novak asked if the district can afford to take the loss on meal accounts. He referred to the point former board member Mike Kleffner made during a discussion about meal charges: “It’s about the kids.”

Messersmith said the district could afford the loss and she would support the board’s decision either way.

“I’m on the same page as everybody else,” Long said. “I don’t want anyone going hungry. Now, that being said if we keep doing that, and we don’t have a generous donation, we’re going to be short quickly.”

Long said he would be okay leaving the policy the same, but he would follow what everyone else wanted to do.

Messersmith said that when the district had a meal limit in the past and a student reached the limit, the student’s guardian usually paid the balance once the student went home and reported having only a sandwich for lunch.

Board Vice President Kayla Wansing asked if promoting the importance of free and reduced lunch forms would help bring down the amount of money owed for meal accounts.

Messersmith said she thought some of the students with outstanding balances would qualify, but the district has been persistent in asking students to return the forms with limited success. Vienna High School Principal Tim Metcalf said he thought he could do more to promote the forms when school resumes in August.

Eventually, Novak said he had changed his mind, and he motioned to accept the proposal to give students a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead of their choice of entree after they reached the $60 limit. The board unanimously approved the motion.