Why St. Paul Public Schools is spending $1.7M on free meals for higher-income students

Josh Verges, Pioneer Press
·5 min read
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For the last two years, Congress has provided free school meals for all students, no matter their family income, because of the coronavirus pandemic.

With that benefit now expired, Minnesota school districts are preparing for a return to the status quo, in which low-income families must apply to receive free or reduced-price meals while the rest either buy meals at school or bring them from home.

St. Paul Public Schools, however, is taking the rare step of spending $1.7 million from its $563 million general fund — which pays mainly for teacher salaries and benefits — in order to continue serving free meals to all students at 18 schools that no longer qualify for universal free meals.

“It’s a benefit that once you have it, it’s very hard to take away. Parents and families come to expect it,” said Jackie Turner, the district’s chief of administration and operations.

The district began using the Community Eligibility Provision in 2014-15 for eight schools. The rule allows a school district, school or group of schools to directly certify for free meals for all students, based on high family participation in other government programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

A year later, St. Paul used the provision for 40 schools.

But since then, the share of St. Paul district students in government assistance has been falling. Four of those 40 schools are closing this summer because of low enrollment. And half of the remaining 36 no longer qualify for the provision at the full reimbursement rate, said Lynn Broberg, assistant director of nutrition services.

QUALIFYING SCHOOLS

Schools qualify for universal free meals if at least 40 percent of students are enrolled in other government programs. But the federal government’s reimbursement rates don’t fully cover the cost of meals unless 62.5 percent of students are directly certified.

That’s where the $1.7 million comes in. “The general fund is covering the difference,” Broberg said.

Nearly all of that money will subsidize meals for people with moderate or higher incomes — more than $51,338 a year for a family of four. However, some lower-income families figure to benefit, too, because they don’t all apply — or apply right away — for the income-based school meal subsidies.

The use of the Community Eligibility Provision is relatively rare in Minnesota. The state ranks 47th in the country, according to legislative testimony from state Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, who tried to pass a bill guaranteeing free meals for all Minnesota students.

A guide from the Minnesota Department of Education suggests districts should be able to find the money to cover the reimbursement shortfall if they can get to a 55 percent direct certification rate. If not general funds, districts can use revenue from a la carte meal sales or in-kind donations, the guide says.

JUST ST. PAUL

The Pioneer Press asked the state’s largest school districts whether they were spending general fund dollars to continue serving universal free meals next year. All nine that responded said they were not.

“I don’t know whether our public would support using general fund dollars to provide free meals for students who do not qualify under federal guidelines,” said Tony Taschner, spokesman for the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan district.

Anoka-Hennepin spokesman Jim Skelly said the district hasn’t discussed it, as it “would require a multimillion-dollar budget cut or program reduction in other areas of the district.”

Spokesman Pepe Barton said South Washington County Schools “does not have the funds available to pay for meals for families who do not qualify. We estimate the cost would be more than $4.4 million.”

Several districts said they are concerned about the low number of families that have turned in applications for free meals and other benefits during the pandemic. Thanks to the federal government, families haven’t had to apply in order to get two years of free lunches, but those forms also determine how much special funding school districts get for other purposes.

“Because meals have been free the past two years, very few families filled out the application and categorical funding was significantly reduced as a result,” Taschner said.

St. Paul district officials have expressed concern in the past about free schoolwide meals reducing the incentive for parents to turn in those forms.

In the seven years since the district began using the Community Eligibility Provision, the share of students signed up for meal subsidies has fallen from 72.3 percent to 61.5 percent; the entire state’s figures have dropped from 38.3 percent to 31.6 percent in that same time.

FREE MEALS AT 36 SCHOOLS

The following 18 schools in St. Paul Public Schools will serve free meals to all students next year and qualify for full reimbursement from the federal government under the Community Eligibility Provision:

  • AGAPE High School

  • American Indian Magnet

  • Benjamin E. Mays IB World School

  • Bruce F. Vento Elementary

  • Como Park Elementary

  • Dayton’s Bluff Elementary

  • Four Seasons A+ Elementary

  • Gordon Parks High School

  • Hazel Park Preparatory Academy

  • Highwood Hills Elementary

  • Humboldt High School

  • Journeys Secondary School

  • Maxfield Elementary

  • Mississippi Creative Arts

  • Obama Elementary

  • River East Elementary and Secondary

  • St. Paul Music Academy

  • Washington Technology Magnet

These 18 schools will serve free meals to all students next year only with the help of a $1.7 million subsidy from the St. Paul district’s general fund: