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Legislation passed in June of 1999 created the North Carolina (NC) Kindergarten Breakfast Program. Kindergarten students in 39 of our elementary schools are eligible to receive free breakfast as part of this program [see schools denoted with an “X” in column (D) of the attached spreadsheet].
Guilford County Schools (GCS) initiated a GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program in elementary and middle schools where 70% or more of the students were eligible to receive free or reduced-price meals. Twenty-six schools were identified to participate in the GCS pilot program. Of that number, 23 were elementary schools and 3 were middle schools [see schools denoted with an “X” in column (E) of the attached spreadsheet].
Based on the information/clarification provided by the Child Nutrition Services division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), school districts may offer a Universal Free Breakfast Program in an individual school if the number of students eligible to receive free meals at the school generate sufficient federal reimbursements to cover the costs of all students participating in the Program at the school. Note that this information/clarification differs from our previous understanding in that the threshold for participation in the program is calculated based on the number/percentage of students eligible for free meals versus free or reduced-price meals.
During the January 15, 2008 Board of Education Administrative Briefing on the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program, Chief Financial Officer Sharon Ozment and Child Nutrition Services Director Cynthia Sevier were tasked with analyzing breakfast program revenues and expenses and recommending what percentage of students eligible to receive free meals should be used as the threshold for determining the schools that will be eligible to participate in the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program effective with the 2008-09 school year.
The attached spreadsheet denotes (a) the schools eligible to participate in the NC Kindergarten Breakfast Program in 2007-08; (b) the schools eligible to participate in the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program in 2007-08; (c) the schools participating in the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program for which actual 2007-08 revenues earned were equal to or greater than expenses incurred; and (d) the schools that could be eligible to participate in the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program in 2008-09 assuming incremental increases in participation ranging from +5% to +100%.
RECOMMENDATION: Based on an analysis of revenue, expense and participation trend data (versus establishing a specific percentage of students eligible to receive free meals as the threshold for determining eligibility), staff recommends that the Board approve the 23 schools highlighted in Column (I) as the schools eligible to participate in the GCS Universal Free Breakfast Program in 2008-09. The percentage of students eligible to receive free meals for the recommended schools ranges from 63.64% to 93.14%.
Attachment - School List
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