Burbank Seeks End to Summer-School Meals

The Burbank Board of Education has voted to discontinue meal services for students enrolled in summer school.

The move would save thousands of dollars but will eliminate federally subsidized lunches for scores of needy students.

The board’s decision, which needs approval by the state Board of Education, came at the request of school district officials, who said the district’s summer food service loses more than $100 daily.

“I personally don’t feel that it is the obligation of the school district to take money out if its educational program to provide welfare for the students,” Burbank Supt. Wayne Boulding said. “A school district is not a welfare institution. Its purpose is to provide an education.”

District officials contend that students need not suffer from the cutback, since summer-school classes end each day at noon, allowing students to eat lunch at home. But state officials, concerned that needy students might not get fed at home, said that state and local officials will need to search for substitute food programs if the Burbank cutback is approved.

Last summer, the school district served an average of 85 lunches a day during the 29-day summer school session. Of those meals, 54 were served to children who qualified for free or reduced-price meals, according to school district statistics.

The state Education Code requires that public schools serve “one nutritionally adequate” meal to needy students during each regular and summer-school day. Federal subsidies provide free or reduced-cost lunches for students whose families meet minimum income standards.

The Burbank board’s unanimous action, which came after a brief public hearing late Thursday night, directs the district to seek a waiver from the state Board of Education exempting Burbank from the meals requirement during the next two summers.

Served in Morning Break

The meals, served during a mid-morning break that fell between two two-hour classes, were prepared at two summer schools and served at those and four other locations.

During the regular academic year, the district serves 4,268 lunches daily, with 1,878 of those meals going to needy children. Lunches during the regular academic year will not be affected by the cutback, officials said.

“Given the realities of school financing and that we are having trouble buying textbooks, it doesn’t make sense for the district to assume other responsibilities,” Boulding said.

The state Board of Education first allowed school districts to eliminate summer-school meal services three years ago, when the Legislature adopted a measure that permitted districts to seek waivers from provisions of the state Education Code, said Maria Balakshin, administrator of child nutrition services for the state Department of Education.

Board, Department Differ

Balakshin said the Board of Education approved the first summer-school meal waivers, which are valid for two years, over the objection of the Department of Education.

“We felt that the intent of the Legislature was that needy children should continue to receive their meals,” she said. “But the state board did not support the department.”

Last year, the state board developed several criteria in an effort to standardize the procedure for granting waivers for summer meals, Balakshin said. The criteria exempted school districts that were losing money on their summer-school lunch programs and had a lower percentage of students eligible for reduced-cost meals during the summer than during the regular school year.

Last year, Balakshin said, more than 100 of the state’s 1,043 school districts requested waivers from the meal services requirement. The state Board of Education granted all of the requests, she said.

L.A. Schools Program

The Los Angeles School District, which operates a limited summer-school program, provides summer meal services and has not requested a waiver from the state, said Bruce Brady, director of food services for the school district. Brady said that the district considers the summer program a priority.

“The purpose of the program is to provide lunch for poor kids,” Brady said. “We like the summer meal service and we think it is a good meal to serve.”

Brady said that the Los Angeles district does not lose money on its summer meals, partly because of the size of the district, which serves nearly 200,000 meals daily to students both in and out of school during the summer.

“If you start losing money on the program, you need to look at why you are losing,” he said. “I wouldn’t close anything until I was certain I couldn’t make it pay.”

Lisa Webster, director of food services for the Burbank schools, said that the Burbank food services department, with a $1.8-million budget this year, is a self-supporting operation. She said the school district operated the summer meals program last summer as a test to determine if the district should seek a two-year waiver.

“We have parameters to determine if we are making it or breaking it, and they say we should serve an average of 20 meals per labor hour,” Webster said. Last summer, the district served less than five meals per labor hour.

As a result, Webster said, the district was losing thousands of dollars in cafeteria man-hours alone by continuing the summer meals. Moreover, transporting the meals to the various schools was considered prohibitive, she said. “With the kids being able to go home and eat at noon, it is not considered to be depriving them of anything,” she said. “It will save the district a substantial amount of money.”

In Burbank’s request for a waiver to the state board, Webster argued that money saved by cutting the summer meals could be used to enhance the regular school food service program, which serves five times as many students as the summer program.

No Alternate Arrangement

Boulding said that the Burbank district had made no arrangement with other organizations to provide meals to the needy students who will be affected by the summer cutback.

“My presumption is that the student will get his meal where he always gets it on the weekends and other times--at home,” Boulding said. “If they are not getting it at home, I don’t know where they are going to get it.”

Once a waiver is granted to a school district by the state Board of Education, however, the state Department of Education works with the districts to find alternative food sources for the needy students, Balakshin said.

“We are concerned about where the students will get their lunches,” she said. “Our initial objections to the waivers were based on the concern that the students would not get the meals at home.”