The Rappahannock County School Board heard Tuesday why the district is planning to step away from a federal program that has provided free breakfast and lunch to all students regardless of income — and got assurances that no child will go hungry as a result.

Jackie Tederick, the division’s school nutrition director, presented a recommendation to end participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) — a federal program that allows qualifying school divisions to offer free breakfast and lunch to all students as a blanket policy rather than requiring individual families to apply.

The federal government reimburses the school for every meal served under CEP, but not at the same rate for every student — and the reimbursement hasn’t been enough to cover the cost, Tederick said.

“I know this is hard to swallow … this recommendation is not a reflection on the value of our program, but it is rather just based on long-term financial sustainability of the program,” Tederick told the board. “I would love to stay with CEP because our families, I’m sure, would appreciate it.”

The program works by calculating what percentage of a division’s students qualify for free or reduced meals through programs like Medicaid or SNAP. That percentage determines the reimbursement rate the division receives per meal served as part of the special program.

Rappahannock’s numbers have not been high enough to make that reimbursement sustainable, Tederick said, and the outlook is getting murkier. She and Superintendent Shannon Grimsley said changes tied to the federal budget and Medicaid eligibility could further shrink that number of eligible students.

“A lot of schools are really grappling with this,” Tederick said. “The qualifications to become directly certified [for free meals], that eligibility has become tighter. We’re trying to look ahead at how many [qualifying students] we might lose because of these tightened rules, but it’s not very well articulated.”

Under CEP, Tederick said, the school is also prohibited from doing its own outreach to families who might qualify — like sending out a sign-up form — and families have to apply directly through social services, which takes more paperwork and legwork on the parent’s end.

“Not to oversimplify, but … in theory, it sounds like a really great program, just a blanket [free meal]. But in essence you’re missing certifying and serving students who really need those [meals] because we can no longer have that personal outreach ourselves.”

Tederick was clear that the change does not mean students will be turned away in the lunch line.

“We are not taking food from kids … by no means will we say ‘You can’t eat.’ That’s not how we do it. And we never have,” she said.

Students who qualify for free or reduced lunch will still receive it, but families will need to apply, Tederick said. Those who do not qualify will be asked to pay, but no student will be denied a meal at the point of service regardless of their account balance.

Grimsley noted that local foundations have been watching the issue and may step in with grant funding.

During public comment, Betsey Dietel said she was “deeply saddened” by the news.

“I know that Rappahannock has been held out as sort of extraordinary for what it’s been doing for the last couple of years about taking away the stigma of free lunches,” Dietel said. “I understand the problems, but I think it’s really too bad.”

“It was wonderful while it lasted, it lasted for a reason,” Chair Wes Mills said. “We’ll still be able to serve those who truly need it.”

Capital improvements report

The School Board learned that several capital projects are moving forward at Rappahannock’s schools. Grimsley said in a presentation that the elementary school roof replacement and ADA-compliant bathroom updates at the high school are both underway, with winning bids coming in roughly $70,000 under budget on each.

The replacement of an underground boiler line, part of the heating system, at the high school has drawn no bids despite being put out for proposal. Grimsley said Robin Bolt, executive director of administrative services, who could not attend the meeting, has been working on outreach to individual vendors looking for one willing to take on the job.

“It’s a difficult job … not one that many would like to bid on,” Grimsley said. The repair also has to happen before improvements to the school’s courtyard can begin, as the line runs underneath it.

Member Lynnie Genho asked that a bimonthly capital improvements update be added as a standing agenda item given the size of the budget this year.