Latest news with #UniversalSchoolMealsProgram
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
VT Universal School Meals Program being debated again
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) – People of all ages gave Governor Phil Scott something to chew this week, as they argue he's trying to take food away from Vermont students. Recently, Governor Scott proposed cutting the Universal School Meals Program, an initiative started in 2023 that provides all Vermont students with free breakfast and lunch at school every day. After Vermonters dealt with high property tax increases and school funding fiascos last year, Scott says a top priority again this year is making Vermont more affordable, and says that means cutting back on government spending. In his latest budget proposal, Scott said his administration was able to carve out $77 million dollars to bring down taxes, and the Universal School Meals Program is included in the cuts. Wednesday afternoon, the governor said he still doesn't like the fact that the program makes every Vermonter, including those living in poverty, pay more in taxes, while also giving free food to children from wealthy families. 'Asking less-fortunate families to support those more-affluent families isn't the right approach, and I think that we need to roll that back and be more pragmatic,' Gov. Scott said. 'We put forward a proposal that we thought was attainable, acceptable. We were asking to go back to what we had previous to Universal Meals, like, what, a year ago?' Scott to decide on Vermont free school meals bill However, Vermont Democrats, school board members and students have many counterarguments, which they aired out at the Vermont State House Thursday afternoon. 'Hungry kids can't learn! Please help kids,' one elementary school student said at the event. Speakers pointed to facts like the high participation rates seen in the program and benefits that appear to be connected to it, like increased student engagement and decreased behavioral outbursts since Universal School Meals started two school years ago. Advocates also said the program doesn't actually cost Vermonters that much in taxes, and argue getting rid of it would be more costly than keeping it in place. 'Apparently, the Governor doesn't do his math homework, because he completely forgot to put anything in the budget for Universal School Meals,' said Democratic State Senator Joe Major, the Vice Chair of the Vermont Senate Agriculture Committee. 'It costs Vermont taxpayers 30 dollars a year to fund this program. That's $2.50 a month. Do the math, Mr. Governor.' 'Almost $17 million dollars in federal funding will come to Vermont, if we have this program, for farmers, as well as this program,' Sen. Major added. 'Do the math, Mr. Governor,' he repeated. 'Every dollar spent on school meals returns over two dollars to our local economy,' said Robert Carpenter, Chair of the Essex Westford School District Board. 'The real cost that is not being discussed at all that is bankrupting our schools is health insurance. Please, Governor, do not scapegoat Universal School Meals. Cutting Universal School Meals will not save taxpayers money, but will result in the middle class and the vulnerable children of our state falling through the gaps.' Essex High students urge Scott to sign free meals bill 'I'll say one thing to Governor Scott: We don't need to make Vermont more affordable on the backs of our children,' said Bobby Starr, a retired Democratic State Senator who served for nearly 50 years. 'To try to think that we're going to make Vermont more affordable by taking away kids' food is really a bad idea. And it's not costing us a lot of money.' Furthermore, advocated note how the program has helped reduce stigma for kids whose families might not be able to afford hot lunch every day. 'Under the old system, unpaid lunch bills created a situation of telling students they could not have the hot lunch option until the bill was paid,' said Gaston Bathalon, Chair of the North Country Supervisory Union School Board. 'With the Universal School Meals Program, the cafeteria is now a place of nourishment, and not stress, for these students. No child has to worry about whether they have enough money in their lunch account. No child has to feel different because of their economic situation.' 'The fallout of food insecurity costs so much more to fix than it costs to prevent,' said Carpenter. Facing more questions Wednesday afternoon, Governor Scott added that funding Universal School Meals would be nice in a perfect world, but noted the state is still dealing with many costly crises. 'None of us want to be in this position, but we're going to have to make some difficult choices over the years,' Scott said. When Gov. Scott allowed the Universal School Meals Program to become law on June 14, 2023 without his signature, Vermont became the sixth state in the country to enact a free school meals program, joining Maine, California, Colorado, Minnesota and New Mexico. Since then, Massachusetts and Michigan have also joined the list. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Should school lunch be free for all Utah K-12 students — even if they can pay?
Senate Minorty Leader Luz Escamilla knows the first question that she will likely be asked when she presents her recently introduced bill calling for free school meals for all students enrolled in Utah's public schools — regardless of financial need: 'Why should the state help pay for meals that many students can afford?' It's a fair query, the Democrat's ranking leader in the Utah Senate told the Deseret News. But the state's primary concern, she added, should not be which kids can pay for meals and which kids cannot. Instead, it should be ensuring that every Utah child is ready to learn because their bellies are full. Providing universal free school meals, she said, accomplishes that goal. First, 'let's have all the kids be ready to eat,' said Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City. 'And then anyone who wants to can opt out of that process — either because they can pay or because they're sending their kids with meals (from home). 'But (free school meals) should be an 'Opt-out' — not an 'Opt-in' choice.' Escamilla's SB173 establishes the creation of the 'Universal School Meals Program.' If it passes, funding would come via a restricted account of legislative appropriations, federal grants, private contributions and other sources. All families would be automatically enrolled in the program, but would still have the option to pay for meals if they choose, offsetting program costs. 'We should have a more honest and transparent conversation about what it costs to have the quality of life that we want for all children, and not exclude some. And I think breakfast and lunch at school, as part of their education journey, should be one of those costs.' Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City The Universal School Meals Program would be administered by the Utah State School Board, coordinating with individual schools to maximize federal funding. A fiscal note has not yet been attached to Escamilla's bill, but on Tuesday she estimated the fiscal note to be approximately $100 million. During her 16-plus years as a state lawmaker, Escamilla has focused much of her attention on the needs of Utah's kids, including food security issues. She's learned that it's difficult to accurately determine how many Utah families are facing food insecurity. No two Utah families are the same, she added. Food insecurity 'can impact any family at any time.' So simply determining which child might be best-served by a free or reduced-cost school meal cannot always be easily measured by, say, family pay stubs or tax returns. And even families not traditionally classified as 'economically vulnerable' might not consistently have reliable access to food. 'Feeding America and other national (hunger relief) organizations tell us that in Utah, 1 in every 6 kiddos do not know where their meal is going to come in the evenings after school,' she said. Absenteeism, poor reading skills and other educational challenges facing many Utah school children are often directly connected to hunger, added Escamilla. 'We can't expect our children to learn adequately when they are hungry.' And then there are the emotional costs exacted on kids — the embarrassment or shame — after being classified as a 'free school lunch' kid. A universal school meal program, she said, would prevent a Utah child from ever being 'placed in a box to label a child. This will keep the labels out because everyone will be treated the same.' Escamilla believes in the goodwill of her Utah neighbors. She's confident that families who are financially able will voluntarily opt out of the automatic universal school meal program. 'I trust that the families in Utah understand how valuable our taxpayers are — and that if they can pay, they will pay for their kiddos meal. 'But I don't want to ever put the burden on the child. … A child should never have to make those decisions or feel embarrassed or worried that their parents may not support them having breakfast or lunch at school.' SB173 is not the only school meal-related bill in front of the Legislature this session. HB100 focuses on providing free breakfast and lunch to 'eligible' students, while prohibiting schools from publicly identifying free meal recipients and causing embarrassment. 'But the right thing to do is to make (free school meals) comprehensive and truly a part of the education piece for all children in our state,' said Escamilla. The senator said her bill reflects Utah's Senate Democrats who are committed to asking how many Utah families are not enjoying the economic prosperities experienced by others in the state. 'We should have a more honest and transparent conversation about what it costs to have the quality of life that we want for all children, and not exclude some,' she said. 'And I think breakfast and lunch at school, as part of their education journey, should be one of those costs.' Escamilla said there are numerous federal programs that make it permissible to draw-down federal dollars — but they first require state participation. 'This bill will fully put the state at full participation that will allow us to explore all of those programs, and we want to do that. 'And it also opens up a restricted account where anyone can contribute towards this fund, which I think is critical. It matches the culture in our state of giving.' Ratifying the universal school meals program into a law would come with a high price tag. But it's worth the cost, said Escamilla. 'We recognize how valuable it is to have children not experiencing hunger,' she said. 'We don't want any Utah children to feel insecure and hungry. We can take care of that as part of their education.'
