A group of North Beach “community angels” has come forward with more than $8,000 in donations to make sure the school district can feed all its students.
Going into December, the North Beach School District had a $2,300 balance in unpaid lunch charges for students, according to Superintendent Andrew Kelly. “The charges had mounted up because the North Beach School District Nutrition Services team never says no to students when they ask to eat.”
Kelly put the word out on the district’s Facebook page and, as of the second week of December, the community stepped up to provide over $8,800 to eliminate the existing gap and help pay future unpaid balances.
“All contributions have been put in a specific account to ensure they are dedicated to unpaid school lunch bills,” said Kelly. “The district will continue to work with parents that don’t qualify for subsidized lunches to pay down their balances, but these contributions have created a safety net for our students and their families.”
While around 70 percent of the students in the district qualify for free or reduced cost meals, there are many others who don’t officially qualify but frequently come up short when their parents can’t send the money, said Kelly.
“This poses a challenge to district staff. Hungry students can’t concentrate and won’t be successful learners. Serving alternate lunches, like a peanut butter sandwich, can be humiliating for a kid,” he said. “But, like many school districts, (the North Beach School District) has limited resources to pay for limitless free meals.”
Kelly, district staff, student and parents “want to send a huge, resounding thank you to our angels,” said Kelly.
■ Bradley and Patricia Deibel, $500
■ Harry Yanagimachi, $100
■ Poplin Construction, Inc., $1,000
■ Grays Harbor Plumbing Inc./Ocean Shores Storage Co., $1,000
■ Arrow Lumber in Ocean Shores, $3,000
■ Two anonymous donors, one who pitched in $1,000 and another who added $2,221.85
“I’m thankful to serve in a community that believes in the value of education and consistently pulls together for the benefit of our most precious commodity, our children,” said Kelly.
