- Waukesha, a Wisconsin school district, opted out of the federal free school meal program.
- A school board member said families could "become spoiled" with free meals.
- Biden extended the free school meal program for every K-12 student through June 2022.
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The federally funded National School Lunch program gives free meals to all students regardless of income. But students who are in the Waukesha School District won't get to participate in that program, becoming the only district in Wisconsin to opt out.
The reason being: families could become spoiled.
Milwaukee's National Public Radio channel first reported last week that on June 9, the Waukesha school board voted to forego the pandemic free meal program that extends through June 30, 2022. While many lawmakers and advocates said the program is necessary to help prevent child hunger during the pandemic, the district's board members opposed the program and believed that families that can afford to feed their children should do just that.
"I had three kids, I had them and so I'm going to feed them. I feel like that's the responsibility of the adult," Karin Rajnicek, a board member, said during a May meeting. "I feel like this is a big problem, and it's really easy to get sucked into and become spoiled and think, it's not my problem any more, it's everyone else's problem to feed my children."
Instead of allowing any student to qualify for free school meals, Waukesha voted to return to the National School Lunch Program, which requires families to fill out an application to qualify for free or reduced school meals.
According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 4,249 students in Waukesha qualified for free and reduced-price meals in 2018-2019 - 36% of the student body. The department said the district can choose to opt back into the program at any time, and some families hope it will.
Waukesha parent Heidi Chada told Milwaukee radio she hopes the board will reconsider its decision. "My question is: why are we the only [school district] who is opting out and saying eating a meal every day at school is not important for the health of our students?"
In April, the US Department of Agriculture announced it was extending its free school meal program for every K-12 student through spring 2022, reaching an estimated 12 million kids that are food insecure.
"It's a win-win for kids, parents and schools," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at the time.