Hartselle City Schools

The Federal Government prohibits the funding of any charge by the local Child Nutrition Program (CNP). The following procedure has been implemented to assist schools in managing student meal charges.

It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to ensure that they provide their student(s) with a meal or money to purchase a meal each day. Repayment of any charges incurred by a student is the sole responsibility of that student's parent or guardian.

When any student arrives at the cash register with a purchase and does not have enough money to pay for the meal or other food item(s):

• The cashier shall debit the student's account for the total amount of the purchase. This applies to all students (grades PreK-12)
• Food item(s) that are not pre-packaged will not be taken from a student once it has been placed on their tray.This applies to  all students (grades PreK-12). If a student has a negative balance they will not be able to purchase "extas." Extras are items that do not count as part of the meal and can include ice cream, bottled water, extra entree, chips, etc. 

In accordance with Federal guidelines, adult and faculty charges shall be prohibited.

Any outstanding charges remaining on the last day of the school year, shall be the responsibility of the Principal and shall be paid for with non-public funds other than Child Nutrition Program funds. All negative accounts shall be reconciled and the money deposited in the CNP account before the cafeteria is closed for the summer.

Each week, low balance notices will be sent home with all elementary students.

• Notices may be sent home with any student who has less than $4.00 in their account (less than $2.00 for students receiving Reduced-priced meals)
• Charge notices may be sent home with elementary students as soon as the first charge occurs.
• No notices shall be sent home with middle or high school students.
• A Negative Balance Report shall be submitted to the Principal at the end of the week.
• Cafeteria managers may alert parents or guardians concerning student's account balances by a rapid notification call.