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Parents of students who buy their lunch in McKeesport Area schools will get earlier warnings before the money runs out.

In addition, school officials are hoping to add the ability for parents to pay for their children's lunches with a debit or credit card.

The hope is that students won't find out they're out of funds when they try to buy lunch and are turned away, said School Director Trisha Gadson, who chairs the board's legislation and policy committee. "That's humiliating, and we're trying to avoid that," she said.

McKeesport Area school directors last night by 9-0 vote approved changes designed to make the district more pro-active in identifying families who either can't or forgot to pay the bills for their children's lunches.

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"Many of the issues we're seeing are the results of parents either not understanding the process, not following up or not having the time" to learn about their options, Gadson said.

Currently, students who buy lunch at school must bring a check or cash to add funds to their account. If the account balance is zero or negative, the school sends home a note with the student.

But students --- especially grade-school pupils --- often forget to give their parent or guardian the note, or parents miscalculate the amount of money left in the lunch account.

In addition, about 65 percent of McKeesport Area students are eligible for free or reduced-price school lunches, according to the state Department of Education, but some families either don't fill out the correct paperwork or don't know whether they meet the income guidelines.

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"We're trying to take some extra measures to make sure there are not socio-economic factors at work," Gadson said. "We recognize the fact that for many students, this is their only opportunity" to eat a balanced meal.

The new policy spells out specific ways --- including phone calls and text messages --- that the district will use to notify parents of their payment options, as well as the process for applying for free or reduced-price lunches.

Some districts allow parents to manage student lunch accounts via the Internet, Gadson said, and McKeesport Area school officials are looking at those options.

The new policy was crafted with the help of suggestions from the district's food service provider, The Nutrition Group of Hempfield Township, as well as guidelines from the Pennsylvania School Boards Association. It replaces a policy originally enacted in 2001.

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