School board discusses past-due food service accounts

At a meeting that lasted more than two hours this week, the Newton Community School Board covered a wide range of topics.

Following a few weeks of discussion on a policy dealing with past-due food service accounts, the board ran through a first reading of a proposed policy. It was still a rough draft, and no action was taken at Monday’s meeting.

The crux of the policy draft states “under no circumstances will a student be denied a meal.”

Board members discussed different options for contacting families once their family meal accounts reach a certain negative balance. There is already an automated email that gets sent out to families when their accounts get near a $0 balance.

Tentatively, the board is planning on having a food service representative contact families to discuss options when an account hits negative $200. An official policy will be voted on at a future board meeting.

Also on Monday, the board approved the 2017-18 Berg Middle School student handbook. The handbook features several changes to last year’s edition.

An update to the school’s cell phone policy will be implemented. Student use of cell phones and other electronic devices in the building during school hours is limited.

Fifth and sixth graders must have their cell phones turned off or silenced as they enter the building. Seventh and eighth graders must have their cell phones turned off or silenced as they enter each classroom. Cell phone use is limited to during lunch and in the hallways for students in seventh and eighth grades. Academic use of phones will be approved by the teacher only.

There was also an update to Berg’s transportation drop-off/pick-up policy due to the construction of the new middle school. During the construction process, the entrance off 19th Street will become the parent drop-off and pick-up for fifth and sixth grade.

The front drive off Fifth Avenue will be used for the district’s buses, and the seventh and eighth grade drop off will remain on the east end of the building.

Updates to the middle school’s head lice policy and grievance procedures will also take effect for the 2017-2018 school year.

In other business, the school board approved an inter-fund loan of up to $1.5 million from the SAVE fund to cover bills and payroll during the months of July and August. Director of Business Services Gayle Isaac said the need to borrow comes from a short-term cash-flow issue.

Between the federal government, state government and other school districts, NCSD is owed about $429,000. The school district will have money coming in, Isaac said. The business services director also said he thinks the amount NCSD will have to borrow will be much less than $1.5 million. He suggested that number as an absolute maximum and so the board wouldn’t have to approve multiple loan measures.

“I’m almost positive it’s going to be much lower than that, but we are going to need to borrow some money to get through the next couple summer months,” Isaac said. “Then in September, when our payments start rolling back in, we will repay the SAVE fund with interest.”

Contact Justin Jagler at 641-792-3121 ext 6532 or jjagler@newtondailynews.com