Sedona-Oak Creek School District Wipes Out Debt and Boosts Meal Funding

In a significant move, the Sedona-Oak Creek School District (SOCSD) announced at their Governing Board meeting on July 9 that all students will receive a free breakfast and lunch every school day starting next week. Furthermore, all outstanding student lunch debts will be written off.

This initiative is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), part of the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. To participate in CEP, at least 25% of the district’s students must qualify for state programs like Medicaid or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As of April 1, 49.4% of SOCSD students met this requirement.

SOCSD’s Finance & Human Resources Director, Stacy Saravo, projected a $64,060 loss in running the food service program. Despite this, the district hopes that participation in CEP will increase meal participation and provide nutritious meals at no cost to families.

According to the district’s annual food service contract, income from a la carte sales, special event food sales, and adult sales, along with federal reimbursement, will be balanced against food costs, labor costs, and administrative fees. The district expects to be reimbursed for approximately 79% of student meals.

At the end of the 2024 school year, SOCSD had an outstanding student meal debt of $3,454.68. With donations paying off part of the debt, the cost of collecting the remaining debt was deemed too high, leading to its write-off as an operating loss.

SOCSD Superintendent Tom Swaninger highlighted that the no-cost meal program will remove the social stigma associated with free or reduced-price lunches and improve efficiency by eliminating the administrative time spent on collecting unpaid meal debts. The district also anticipates savings on administrative costs.

Board member David Price expressed strong support, noting that every district should be funded for preschool and all-day kindergarten, criticizing the state’s backwardness on these issues. Fellow board member April Payne echoed his sentiments.

In a related move, the board voted to reinstate preschool fees for the upcoming year, reversing the tuition-free policy in place since August 2020. Price, Payne, and Governing Board President Randy Hawley are all seeking reelection this year, with former SOCSD soccer coach Sam Blom also vying for a board seat in November.

In another development, Cottonwood-Oak Creek School District will also provide no-cost meals to its students through a collaboration with Sodexo Food Service Company, as announced by COCSD Superintendent Jessica Vocca.