By Alex Ziolkowski
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
The Baltimore County Council adopted a resolution Monday in which it asked the local school system to implement a pilot program that would allow an estimated 3,200 students at four low-income schools to receive free or reduced priced lunches next year.
The program, if executed by school officials, would allow all students who attend Hawthorne Elementary, Riverview Elementary, Dundalk Middle and Dundalk High schools to automatically qualify for free or reduced meals in the 2016-2017 academic year, even if they have not filled out the application for the meal plan.
Supporters of the resolution have said that this last point is important because the application process is so odious that many families in need don’t even bother to apply for free or reduced lunches because they cannot handle the paperwork.
“Regardless of income the goal is that every kid can get a free breakfast and lunch,” Council member Julian E. Jones Jr., D-District 3, said.
The Community Eligibility Pilot Program is permitted under the Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, a federal law that allows local jurisdictions to provide free or reduced priced meals to students in schools that have high levels of poverty.
The law is designed to give cities and counties flexibility so that rather than collecting applications from each student’s households, an entire student body can be automatically deemed eligible for free and reduced meals if at least 40 percent of the students would meet the eligibility requirements for the lunch plan.
An estimated 43 to 63 percent of the students at the four county schools that would be part of the pilot would be eligible for free or reduced lunches.
Resolution 32-16, which was cosponsored by council members Vicki Almond, D-District 2, Thomas E. Quirk, D-District 1, Cathy Bevins, D-District 6, and David S. Marks, R-District 5, generated strong debate during the council’s meeting.
Councilman Wade Kach, D-District 3, unsuccessfully tried to amend the resolution to allow county officials to have an auditing phase to determine which students were qualified for the free and reduced priced lunches. Kach said an audit would allow the county to better use its resources.
Bevins opposed the amendment, saying she did not believe the county could conduct an audit of the student body given that the pilot would operate under a federal law that supersedes state and local government action.
Bevins said the school budget has $13 million of untouched money that could be tapped for the program, which has a pricetag of about $485,000.
Jones said the bill would save parents at the four schools an estimated $540 a year on lunches. In addition, Quirk said there was bipartisan support for the measure throughout the community.
Councilman Todd K.Crandell, R-District 7, questioned why the county had to spend money on the meals pilot.
“It’s a federal … entitlement program,” Crandell said. “Is it no longer the parent’s responsibility to take care of their kids?”
The resolution would require the school system to provide quarterly updates to the council and the Baltimore County Food Policy Task Force on the progress of the pilot program.
The resolution comes after a county study determined that it was possible to implement the program next year.
See related story here.
In other action, the council voted 5-2 to approve a bill designed to discourage drivers from parking traditional gas-powered vehicles in spaces dedicated to plug-in electric vehicles.
Drivers who illegally park in plug-in spots will be charged with a misdemeanor and face a $75 fine. The bill takes effect on April 4.