The Pelham School Board is looking at adopting a new policy that would tighten the rules regarding school lunch money owed to the district.

The school district’s food service director, Megan Bizzarro, proposed a draft of the policy to the School Board at a meeting on Wednesday, April 9, which would allow the district to revisit costs associated with food service each year and apply stricter guidelines to help parents stay current with their child’s lunch account.

“No one likes this. I don’t like wearing the collector hat,” Bizzarro said, adding Pelham had about $1,600 owed in lunch accounts as of Monday, April 21.

Students who are not paid up on their lunch account receive alternative lunches, which might include a sandwich instead of the main course being offered that day, Bizzarro said.

Elementary school kids would be allowed to go over on their account by $5 before the account was frozen and the child had to get an alternative lunch. Middle schoolers would be allowed one meal before their accounts were frozen. High school students would not be allowed any overcharges on their account.

“That’s fairly typical of other districts,” said Bizzarro of the high school regulations in the policy, adding high school students have a greater responsibility and often pay for lunch themselves.

Lunch money that is still owed to the district at the end of the school year, Bizzarro said, is covered by the general fund in keeping with federal regulations.

“I know we are in a default budget,” Bizzarro told the board. “This is not something you could necessarily budget for, either.”

She added the shortfall in lunch accounts is not necessarily coming from low-income students and parents.

“The great majority of the money that is owed is from the full-pay category,” Bizzarro said.

She said the Litchfield School District fell into trouble with lunch money owed to the district and sent home bills every day and instituted a point of sale system so parents could pay online if it were more convenient. Currently, the school’s administration sends notices home when accounts become delinquent.

The School Board considered Bizzarro’s presentation the first reading of the policy, which will require at least two more readings and discussion before going into effect.

School Board member Cindy Kyzer asked whether the school district goes after parents for the lunch money the general fund offsets at the end of the year. Business administrator Kathleen Sargent said she was unsure whether the district pursued that money or not.

Kyzer suggested putting the lunch bills in with students’ progress reports and report cards.

Bizzarro said she will soon go before the Windham School Board to propose the policy, and did not want to speak on Windham’s outstanding food service accounts until the board had read and discussed the policy.

School Board Chairman Bruce Couture said Pelham used to have a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Windham in which Windham would help offset some of Pelham’s food service shortfalls, but that has stopped, as Windham also has outstanding lunch money owed, according to Bizzarro.

“In some districts, (school food service) makes money for the district,” Couture said.