District Charge Policy

  • The Sault Area School District recognizes that healthy, nutritious meals are an important component to student readiness and ability to learn. To be in compliance with Federal Regulations, the Food Service Program is a self-supporting fund that shall not have a negative balance at the close of a fiscal year. Parents are responsible to monitor their child(ren)’s account balances and to make payments appropriately.

    To be fair and equitable and in order to ensure compliance of all who participate in the school meals program, the policy establishes procedures for the methods of payment, charge availability and collection methods.

    The Food Service Program will use widespread publicity of the District Meal Charge Policy & Procedures as necessary to ensure parents understand the limit to the number of meals charged and the action in place once the limit is exceeded. Letters home, newsletter reminders, announcements, phone calls will be some of the publicity used to educate parents on this policy.

    Adults are not permitted to charge meals. USDA’s Agreement to Administer the Federally-funded Child Nutrition Program states “Child Nutrition Funds may not be used to support or supplement adult meals or snacks.”

    Negative Balance Threshold

    Elementary Students (K-5)

    Will be allowed to charge up to $7.80 (the dollar equivalent of 3 meals.)

    Middle School Students (6-8)

    Will be allowed to charge up to $5.90 (the dollar equivalent of two meals). Snack Bar charges are not allowed. Students must have money in their account or have cash to purchase snack bar items.

    High School Students (9-12)

    Will not be allowed to charge any school meals, causing their school lunch account to go into a deficit balance.

    Consequences of Negative Account Balances

    Once balance notices have been sent out, parents will have five (5) days to pay or make payment arrangements. Students will be unable to participate in the breakfast or lunch program until the balance is paid or an arrangement to pay the balance is made.

    Notification Steps

    Sault Area Schools use a variety of notification reminders to parents:

    • Automated notifications are made to all participating families with $5.00 or less in their account each night.
    • Balance notices will be sent home weekly to families at the elementary level with $5.00 or less in their accounts.
    • Balance notices will be mailed home monthly to all families with large negative balances.
    • Students that continuously run a negative balance will be referred to the school principal for help in collecting the account balance.

    Payment Methods 

    • MiStar makes it easy to make payments. You can deposit money, check your child’s balance, and purchase history. Typically, the money appears in your child’s lunch account within 2 hours.

    • Payments can be made by check or money order and be sent to school with your student, or mailed to Sault Area Schools, Food Service Department, 904 Marquette Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI