By Anne Scheck
A Break in Covering School Lunch Costs?
State legislators are expected to step in with a provision that could help relieve a debt approaching $75,000 that has been incurred by Central School District 13J for school lunches that have gone unpaid this past year. “I think the bill does have legs,” said School Superintendent Jennifer Kubista EdD during a recent community forum. “But it still has a way to go in the state legislature.”
HB 2760 would address school meal debt by making more children and youth eligible for free school meals. Central School District 13J "could be a big winner," said Matt Newell-Ching, public affairs director at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, which tracks family food insecurity.
If the bill passes, it will more than double the number of schools statewide able to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge and without applications, also known as "community-eligibility" schools, Mr. Newell-Ching explained. Initial analysis by his non-profit group indicates that many -- or perhaps all -- schools in Central School District would be able to participate. The supplementary state funding would be able to make it possible financially, he said.
It's suspected that the expense to the district began ratcheting up this year because some families that cannot afford to buy student lunches became fearful of filling out the forms needed to quality for a subsidy. So the district provided lunch for students who didn’t pay. “If you aren’t able to eat you cannot focus in school,” Dr. Kubista noted. [LOOK for more coverage of this likely legislative action on new lunch funding in the column “The Civics Lesson” in the May issue of The Independent.]
HB 2760 would address school meal debt by making more children and youth eligible for free school meals. Central School District 13J "could be a big winner," said Matt Newell-Ching, public affairs director at Partners for a Hunger-Free Oregon, which tracks family food insecurity.
If the bill passes, it will more than double the number of schools statewide able to serve breakfast and lunch to all students at no charge and without applications, also known as "community-eligibility" schools, Mr. Newell-Ching explained. Initial analysis by his non-profit group indicates that many -- or perhaps all -- schools in Central School District would be able to participate. The supplementary state funding would be able to make it possible financially, he said.
It's suspected that the expense to the district began ratcheting up this year because some families that cannot afford to buy student lunches became fearful of filling out the forms needed to quality for a subsidy. So the district provided lunch for students who didn’t pay. “If you aren’t able to eat you cannot focus in school,” Dr. Kubista noted. [LOOK for more coverage of this likely legislative action on new lunch funding in the column “The Civics Lesson” in the May issue of The Independent.]
School Growth
Independence schools will increase an estimated 1.6% annually in the coming years, and the growth will continue through 2028, according to a research team from Flo Analytics, a Portland-based data-mining company that predicts student-population growth. The forecast was reported at District 13J’s school board meeting last month by analysts Jerry Oelerich and Alex Brasch.
The biggest gains will be seen at Independence Elementary School, which enrolls students primarily from the city’s core, but upticks also will occur at Ash Creek Elementary, which draws from an area west of Gun Club Road. A big jump in enrollment is likely to occur between 2023 and 2028 at Talmadge Middle School as the increase of kindergarten entrants from earlier years begins to translate into enrollment there, the analysts said.
Looking Ahead: Local American Legion Post Offers Scholarships to BOYS STATE. Male high school juniors who would like to attend Boys State at Western Oregon University June 16-22 can apply for up to $350 in tuition through a scholarship program by the local chapter of the American Legion, Post 33, in Independence. Forms can be found at: https://www.orlegion.org/boys-state.html.Though the forms indicate a Wilsonville address for mailing, the application can be sent directly for scholarship consideration to Billy Whisenant, 304 Dawn Court, Independence OR 97351. Deadline is May 27.
The biggest gains will be seen at Independence Elementary School, which enrolls students primarily from the city’s core, but upticks also will occur at Ash Creek Elementary, which draws from an area west of Gun Club Road. A big jump in enrollment is likely to occur between 2023 and 2028 at Talmadge Middle School as the increase of kindergarten entrants from earlier years begins to translate into enrollment there, the analysts said.
Looking Ahead: Local American Legion Post Offers Scholarships to BOYS STATE. Male high school juniors who would like to attend Boys State at Western Oregon University June 16-22 can apply for up to $350 in tuition through a scholarship program by the local chapter of the American Legion, Post 33, in Independence. Forms can be found at: https://www.orlegion.org/boys-state.html.Though the forms indicate a Wilsonville address for mailing, the application can be sent directly for scholarship consideration to Billy Whisenant, 304 Dawn Court, Independence OR 97351. Deadline is May 27.
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