School board passes limited open-campus lunch

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough School District School Board approved a limited open-campus lunch for eligible high school juniors and seniors at its meeting on Thursday, where it passed 4-1.

At the meeting, student advisory board representative Andrea Wagner advocated for passage of the student-initiated proposal.

"I think it'll be a good motivation for everyone to get good grades," Wagner said. "Eligible students would be a great group to pilot the program. I think we should give them a chance."

About 38 percent of high school students would be eligible for the new program, according to the district's research. To be eligible, students must be a high school junior or senior; have a 3.0 GPA or above; have had no out-of-school suspensions and no drug infractions, including alcohol or tobacco, from the previous year; and have had fewer than five tardy slips in the current school year.

The district estimates roughly 150 students from Palmer High School, 200 from Colony and nearly 200 from Wasilla would be eligible.

There's a big caveat, however. Students must also have parental permission in order to participate. And, principals at each school could decide to keep the closed lunch status quo, or revoke it after instituting it if it proves to be a problem.

Some principals of the district's alternative schools have already said they'll not be adopting the new limited open-campus lunch if it passes, said executive director of instruction Amy Spargo.

School board president Donna Dearman recommended that the board urge principals to require notarized parental permission as part of a best practices implementation of the limited open-campus lunch. Notary signature would make it unlikely that students might get in to the program by forging their parents' signatures on the permission slip, Dearman said.

The parental permission requirement would be signed once per school year. Spargo said schools would likely use a sticker on student IDs to help keep track of which students are allowed off-campus, and which are not.

Board member Ole Larson said he'd like to see a half-hour or 15-minute training session or video for kids who are eligible, in order to communicate the responsibilities that come along with the privilege of having an open-campus lunch.

Currently, Spargo said, the lunch hour at most high schools lasts just 30 to 35 minutes. Some on the board questioned whether that was enough time to leave campus, get lunch, and come back on time for school afterward. Spargo also noted that local businesses close to the high schools have expressed enthusiasm for the open-campus lunch idea.

Board member Ole Larson lauded the school district's student government for coming up with a good proposal on the policy change. He said that, even though he realizes the district "can't keep students in a bubble," he continues to have reservations about the change. He said he thinks students should given to understand that if they abuse the privilege, it could be lost for everyone at their school if the principal decides to revoke it.

After the votes were cast, president Dearman announced the policy change proposal's passage.

"Thank you, student advisory board," she said, "And congratulations, and be safe."