Glennallen Schools Reduce Free Meals

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NOTE: This article has been updated from its original version to clarify that the Migrant Education program will be funded in the 2025-2026 school year. The date of the next school board meeting is also updated. 

August 14, 2025

Allison Sayer - CRR Staff

The Glennallen Schools will no longer offer a breakfast program, and will require applications for free or reduced price lunch in the coming school year. Families above the income threshold for free or reduced cost lunch, or who do not apply, will have to pay. 

Last year, breakfast and lunch were freely provided to all Glennallen School students. The district participated in the federal Community Eligibility Program (CEP). The CEP eliminated the need for applications for free or reduced lunches. Instead, schools could use district-wide food stamp participation rates as a proxy to demonstrate need and offer all students a free meal. Unfortunately, the rate of reimbursement from the federal CEP program was far less than the cost to the district of providing the meals. 

At the August 5 board meeting, Financial Director Sandy Friendshuh and budget committee member Heidi Jacobsen discussed that every year, the district spends more money on food service and transportation than it receives in reimbursements from state or federal funding. The deficit for meals was $164,000 for the most recent school year. 

Friendshuh stated that in prior years, she could find “other money” to cover shortfalls in food and transportation costs. However, the only remaining pool is currently dwindling savings. One major concern is that to apply for Capital Improvement Program funds and other facility reimbursements, the district must contribute a portion of project costs. If the district’s savings continue to go down each year, repairs and major maintenance will be less feasible. 

CRR asked Friendshuh via email for some examples of funds that were used in the past to cover shortfalls, but had not heard a response by press time. 

Superintendent Theresa Laville shared this was a difficult decision. In a letter to the community dated July 21, she wrote, “We understand this news may be disappointing and may affect many families who have come to rely on this support.” 

Jacobsen and Laville shared the district has been exploring solutions with other school districts for the long term sustainability of a meals program. This includes a “hybrid” program where districts serve hot lunch on certain days, and sack lunches on others. Jacobsen also stated that during the breakfast program, “a huge amount of food was thrown away” daily because the kids did not eat it. 

Board members discussed other solutions. Board member Mark Somerville stated general support for remaining in compliance with federal standards for school lunches to continue to receive federal funding. However, he also advocated for exploring private options such as catering to provide some meals.

Board member Lacayah Engebretson wondered whether helping to expand participation in the Migrant Education Program could help with funding the lunch program, because it includes some meal funding. However, although the federal Migrant Education Program is funded for 2025-26, it may be cut in subsequent years. 

Engebretson also requested that the district collect data on attendance and student performance to determine meals’ impact. She suggested this could be helpful in applying for other funding sources. 

Engebretson also requested the district consider a “tiered” program for families that will have to pay for lunch, starting with a lower cost in the coming year and raising the price each year. She suggested this could lower the impact of the cost. 

Board member Anna Bell-Hand inquired whether past conversations about participating in the roadkill program had been followed up. This could have the added benefit of hands-on learning of how to butcher large game. Superintendent Laville stated that when this was discussed last year, the district was still trying to make it work to participate in the federal CEP program. However, all other solutions could now be revisited. 

Jacobsen shared that many other options, including partnering with other entities, were discussed at the Budget Committee meeting on this topic. 

By switching from a free lunch program to a program where some families apply for a free or reduced lunch and others must pay, the district will still have an estimated $100,000 shortfall for its lunch program. 

Laville shared that, going forward, families who owe money for lunches will be contacted in a timely manner. In past years prior to CEP participation, families participating in the paid program were not contacted until they had amassed large debts. These were sometimes in the thousands of dollars. These bills were so large the families did not pay them. Laville hopes that contacting families early, when their debts are more reasonable, will help to ensure they are able to pay what they owe. 

In other district news, Laville shared the district will have four teaching vacancies going into the school year. The district has offered two current paraprofessionals positions as long-term substitutes at the elementary level and were awaiting a formal response at the time of the meeting. The high school has implemented some creative scheduling and will also use some remote teachers to ensure the curriculum is taught. The district is continuing to seek teachers.

The district received a grant of $350,000 per year for five years to support literacy training, events, and materials purchases in the district. This includes support for the popular literacy night events. It will also support literacy training for teachers of all subject areas. 

At the work session prior to the school board meeting, Technology Support Specialist Jonathan Carty gave a demonstration of the new district website, which is scheduled to be launched August 8. Carty shared that many changes to the old CRSD website had to go through a third party. This made it unwieldy to keep the site dynamic. The new site will be controlled in house. 

Carty stated the new site will have a minimal number of clicks needed to navigate to a particular page. It will also feature more photos and content from the individual schools. Laville shared this is important to “sell the district” to prospective staff and residents. 

In future years, Carty hopes to house enrollment forms and other documents within the website. 

The next school board meeting will be August 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the district office in Glennallen. There will be a work session at 5:00 p.m.