Multiple Oklahoma school districts say they will continue to charge cafeteria fees despite demands from the state’s public education chief to provide all meals for free.
Serving free meals to all students, as state Superintendent Ryan Walters called for last month, isn’t financially feasible and would require dramatic cost cuts, district officials have said. Unlike other states that made school meals universally free, Oklahoma has not dedicated any extra funds to support the policy.
“At the present time, we’re going to continue operating the way we have done with lunches until we have further guidance in terms of what and how that’s going to look within our school and other school districts,” said Josh Delich, superintendent of Edmond Public Schools.
Walters threatened to penalize and audit schools that don’t comply, calling cafeteria fees an extra tax unfairly imposed on Oklahoma families.
“If schools districts cannot, and will not, prioritize students, (the Oklahoma State Department of Education) will get involved and audit their budgets,” Walters said in a statement Wednesday. “Record amounts of funding are going to schools and it is completely unacceptable for administrators to continue failing our kids, and get rich doing it.”
No state law permits the state superintendent to punish or audit schools for not providing universal free meals, according to a memo from the Oklahoma State School Boards Association.
Speaking with reporters after a State of the Schools event Aug. 6, Delich said he’s not concerned about blowback from the state Department of Education.
“As things continue to unfold, we’ll adjust accordingly and do what we need to do as a collective system to do what’s best for students and families,” he said.
Children living at or near the federal poverty line qualify for free or reduced-price meals in any public school.
More than 250 districts in Oklahoma have a large enough portion of students from low-income homes that they receive enhanced federal funding that enables them to provide free meals to all enrolled.
Other districts with lower poverty levels don’t qualify for as much federal support for child nutrition costs, which is why they still charge for meals.
Some, like Norman Public Schools, have a mix of both scenarios.
Norman has 19 schools that offer free meals to all students and five that do not. Low-income families at those five schools are encouraged to fill out an application for free or reduced-price meals, district spokesperson Courtney Scott said.
With less than a week to go before Norman’s first day of school, the district had yet to receive any formal directive or guidance from the state Education Department about the meal policy, she said Thursday.
“We aren’t changing any plans,” Scott said.
Representatives of Deer Creek Public Schools and Bixby Public Schools said they don’t intend to cancel all cafeteria fees, either. Superintendents of both districts said it would take “drastic” cuts to cover free meals for every student.
Walters urged districts to reduce administrative spending to free up funds for the extra cost.
Even a “crippling” 50% cut to Bixby’s administrative budget would afford only 30% of the cost of student meals, Superintendent Lydia Wilson wrote in a message to families.
Deer Creek Superintendent Jason Perez said his district would have to lay off teachers and cut school programs on top of firing all administrators.
“I think for now, we’re going to continue on as planned,” he told Oklahoma Voice on July 8. “We’ve got school opening up in a month. We want to make sure we’re fully staffed. We want to make sure that we’re going to be able to fund school.”
A Deer Creek assistant superintendent, Lenis DeRieux, said last week the district’s stance has not changed.
Lunches will cost $3.40 in Deer Creek’s elementary and middle schools, and $3.75 at its high school, according to the district’s website. Breakfast is $2.37.
