Meal Plan Debt - Part II

After hearing most of the discussion regarding the Meal Plan Debt at last night's Special Called Board Meeting, I may have figured out the answer to one of my questions about the amount of the debt. That question is the amount owed by families, when the balance is less than $100.

The Meal Plan Debt is almost $242,000. The Update indicates that the district is trying to collect $218,000 from full-pay families, not from families of students on free or reduced-price lunch plans.

Number of letters sent to full-pay families: 939
Number of letters returned:                            93  (10%)
Numbers of letters presumed delivered:       826

Debit of full-pay families owing $100 or more:       $218,000
Average debt/family:                                                $       232.16 ($218000/939)

Total Meal Plan Debt:                          $242,000
Full-pay families ($100 or more)         $218,000
Full-pay families (Less than $100):     $  26,000*

* Collection attempt is limited to phone calls and email, not threatening letters

197 families have coughed up $9, 137 so far. That's a paltry average of $46.38 per payment.

If 197 families had paid just the minimum amount of $100 targeted for collection, then the district would have received $19,700.

The Update indicated that 742 accounts remain targeted for collection. That number is 197 (the number of payments received) less than the 939 total accounts.

Will the district attempt to collect the balance on account for which only a partial payment was received?

If you would like to view the presentation to the board on the Meal Plan Debt and the discussion, see the YouTube recording for the August 6, 2019 Special Called Board Meeting. Pull the counter forward to 31:20 and hang on!

I missed this from Chief Financial Officer Dr. Miley's word in the meeting, when he said (about parents of full-pay students), "Some of them owe more than $1,500."

The entire discussion was very good and should be viewed by every parent. If you have comments, please post them below and inform your board member.