Arlington Public Schools (APS) concluded the 2024-25 academic year facing a substantial challenge, with approximately $248,523 in uncollected debt linked to student meal services.
In a recent School Board meeting, members sanctioned the allocation of funds to cover this shortfall.
Remarkably, about 80% of this debt originates from students who have already graduated, while the remaining balance is attributed to students classified as inactive, as detailed in a staff report.
Despite these financial difficulties, APS enforces a policy that ensures no student is denied a reimbursable meal due to negative account balances, according to School Board Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton.
Although students with outstanding meal payments cannot select additional a la carte items, they are still permitted to receive meals.
Arlington’s policies also ensure that students are not barred from participating in extracurricular activities or required to perform school chores due to unpaid meal debts, a practice seen in other school divisions.
Under federal regulations, school systems must reimburse any uncollectible meal debt from their food-service program fund at the end of each academic year.
It’s also noteworthy that these federal funds cannot be utilized for the reimbursement process.
In additional updates from the July 24 meeting, the School Board revised the existing cellphone policy for students during school hours.
These adjustments align with a new state law that took effect on July 1.
One significant update is that no student will face suspension or expulsion solely for contravening phone-use regulations.
However, disciplinary actions such as suspension or expulsion may be enacted if students exhibit disruptive behavior related to policy enforcement, such as harassment or bullying.
Another important development includes modifications to the 2025-26 school calendar.
To prevent a recurrence of previous controversies linked to holiday observances, School Board members incorporated language indicating that certain holiday dates may change in the upcoming months.
The added caveat highlights that religious and cultural observance days can vary each year and might even shift after the school calendar is established.
Consequently, schools are encouraged to refrain from scheduling events on the day before or after these designated observance days.
The calendar now explicitly indicates observances such as Rosh Hashana (September), Yom Kippur, Diwali (October), Eid al-Fitr (March), and Eid al-Adha (May) as holidays that may have flexible dates.
During the 2024-25 school year, APS officials initially believed that the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday would not conflict with weekend activities.
Due to the lunar calendar’s influence, the holiday eventually fell on Friday, June 6, complicating matters for school officials who had numerous end-of-year events planned, including a significant national music festival.
This led to dissatisfaction among parents when faced with the possibility of school and activities being canceled on such an important day.
Conversely, there were concerns from another group of parents regarding the school’s recognition of this vital religious holiday.
Nouha Shwehdi, a parent addressing the Board in May, emphasized the importance of Eid al-Adha, stating, “one of the holiest days in Islam cannot be minimized.”
Ultimately, the Board voted 4-1, with Chair Bethany Zecher Sutton opposing, to continue classes and activities on June 6, highlighting the complexity of balancing educational and cultural needs.
In previous years, similar situations were managed differently, as had been the case when there was adequate notice for the correct date, allowing smoother adjustments.
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