BELLE — The Maries County R-2 School District distributed a new policy on June 30, outlining how unpaid student meal accounts will be handled, establishing limits on meal charging, parent notification procedures and collection practices for delinquent accounts.

According to district policy P 5550: Meal charges, the purpose of the policy is to maintain consistent meal account procedures throughout the district while addressing the financial impact unpaid meal balances have on district finances. The policy outlines that the Food Service Department is responsible for maintaining meal charge records and notifying the district’s accounting department of outstanding balances.

The Board of Education published the updated meal charge policy as part of a broader package of district policy revisions. The policy establishes different charging limits based on grade level.

Elementary students may charge up to $10 in school meals. Those charges are limited to reimbursable meal items only. Once an elementary student’s balance exceeds $10, the student may be served a designated alternate meal.

Middle school students may also charge up to $10, but once that limit is reached, no additional meal charges will be accepted.

High school students are limited to charging one meal.

The district also prohibits charging for à la carte food items and beverages.

Parents or guardians of students with negative meal balances will be contacted through electronic communication, written correspondence or telephone calls from either the district’s accounting office or food service department.

According to the policy, May 15 will serve as the annual cutoff date for meal charging. At that point, parents and guardians will receive a written request for payment in full.

Any unpaid balances remaining at the end of the school year will carry over into the following school year.

For graduating seniors, the policy requires all meal charges to be paid in full before graduation. It states that failure to satisfy those balances may result in the student being denied participation in graduation ceremonies.

Recognizing that some families may face financial difficulties, the district encourages parents who are experiencing hardship to apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits at any time during the school year.

To help ensure families are aware of the policy, each building principal will send a letter to parents before the first day of school outlining the requirements. The policy will also be published on the district’s website.

The district also details how unpaid meal balances will be collected if they become delinquent.

According to the policy, unpaid meal charges will be treated as delinquent debt under the district’s food service program. District officials will first work with parents and guardians to establish reasonable repayment plans. If those efforts are unsuccessful, the district may pursue additional collection methods, including referring the debt to a collection agency or taking legal action.

If district officials determine that additional collection efforts would be ineffective or cost more than the debt itself, the balance may be reclassified as “bad debt” and written off as an operating loss. The policy notes that federal food service funds cannot be used to cover those losses or associated collection costs. Instead, any operating losses must be restored using the district’s general fund or other non-federal funding sources.

The document also includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s required nondiscrimination statement, outlining federal civil rights protections for participants in USDA programs and providing information on how individuals may file discrimination complaints or request program information in alternative formats.