Purpose

The purpose of this regulation is to establish consistent meal account procedures for Durango School District 9-R, and alleviate the financial burden that unpaid meal charges place on the school district.  This regulation also serves to create a fair system to ensure students have access to school meals through a charge regulation.

Free and Reduced Meal

Free & Reduced Applications are available any time during the school year.  A new, current school year application must be completed each school year.  Applications are available prior to the beginning of the school year during school registration, check in and meet your teacher events, as well as at the District Office, at each school cafeteria, and the school office.

Payment Due Upon Service

Paid families must pay for meals at time of service.  PK-12 families with students on the reduced plan eat breakfast and lunch for free.  Please ensure that you receive confirmation that you are on the free or reduced meal program to avoid charging meals and incurring fees. Should you incur school meal fees prior to receiving confirmation of acceptance into the free or reduced meal program; you will be responsible to pay the fees incurred prior to that notice.

Meal Charge Regulation at Durango High School and Big Picture High School

Students are not allowed to charge meals at the high school level. 

Meal Charge Regulation PK-12

Durango School District 9-R recognizes that it is the parent or guardian’s responsibility to provide breakfast and lunch for their children. We also know that a well-nourished child is a more engaged learner and performs better in school.  To that end, we allow students to charge a limited amount of meals based on the following guidelines:

1. Prepayment of meals is required. You can establish a meal credit on your child’s lunch account through pre-payments.  Each meal eaten will be deducted from this pre-paid account.  It is your responsibility to ensure the account is funded and current.
2. When the student’s lunch account gets to a $10.00 balance, the school chef gives the child a verbal reminder and the Infinite Campus portal system will send out an automated email or text to the parent/guardian informing them of the status of their child’s school meal balance.  When the students’ lunch account gets to a $5.00 balance an automated phone call, email and text will be sent to the parent/guardian informing them of the status of their child’s lunch account.
3. Should the meal balance go below $0.00, the child will have the ability to charge three complete meals (at elementary and middle schools only).  Additionally, an email and voicemail notification will be sent from Infinite Campus to parents/guardian informing them of the status of their child’s meal account at each occurrence.
4. Once a student incurs three (3) full meal charges and the account becomes negative the student may not receive a meal from the cafeteria line, but instead may receive a partial lunch consisting of a cheese stick and fruit, or a granola bar and fruit at the fee of $1.25, or a partial breakfast of dry cereal and milk at the fee of $0.95.  You will be responsible to pay costs incurred through receipt of partial meals.
5. If payment is not made, the principal or their designee will contact the household and review with them their responsibility to provide meals for their student(s) and to stay current on their meal account.
6. Should negative balances not be paid in full by the end of the school year, the school district reserves the right to send the account to collections.

We understand that unforeseen circumstances do arise which make it difficult to pay for school meals.  Under these circumstances, please call the Student Nutrition Department to make alternative arrangements before your child accumulates a negative account balance.

How to Pay for Student Lunches

1. Pay online through your Infinite Campus Parent Portal account using your credit card. Infinite Campus Parent Portal is a comprehensive program that allows parents to access their students’ educational information, such as; grades, attendance and schedule, to name a few.  For more information about Infinite Campus Parent Portal, please visit the following  link:  I.C Portal  
2. Provide cash or check to school site or mail checks, money orders or certified checks to Food Services, Durango School District 9-R, 201 E. 12th Street, Durango, CO, 81301.  Please note the student(s) name on the check.