WASHINGTON — Later this week, federal workers will notice the impact of the federal government shutdown in their bank accounts.
And whether they’re on furlough or working without getting paid, bills will be showing up. But there’s one expense a local school system is hoping to cover for parents worried about their budgets if the shutdown continues to drag on.
K. Alexander Wallace, a member of the Prince George’s County School Board, is proposing that the county cover all breakfast and lunch fees for students until the shutdown ends. He used his Twitter account to post a letter he sent to interim schools CEO Monica Goldson.
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Today, on behalf of the thousands of @pgcps families impacted by the federal government shutdown, I have formally requested that the costs for meals, both breakfast and lunch, be waived for all students until the shutdown is resolved. pic.twitter.com/c3Iero8zOF
— K. Alexander Wallace (@KAlexWallace) January 5, 2019
Noting how many parents in the county are also federal employees, Wallace wrote that picking up the lunch and breakfast tab until the shutdown ends “will ease the concerns of many families.”
The cost of a school lunch is $2.75 per day in elementary schools and $3 per day for middle and high schools. A high school student who eats breakfast and lunch at school every day can pay up to $92 per month.
The proposal comes days after Charles County schools announced it would increase the school lunch credit program it offers. The increase takes effect Friday and runs through 30 days after the end of the shutdown.
The program runs like a credit card, allowing students who don’t have cash for lunch that particular day to eat anyway, and pay back the cost later. The debt limits have been raised to as much as $55 per day, and will stay elevated until 30 days after the shutdown ends.
Any debt accrued during this period, however, will eventually have to be paid back.
