West Fargo Public School District wrote off massive meal debt

WEST FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — In the last school year, West Fargo Public Schools served over one million school lunches in the district. But in that same year, a massive amount of debt had accrued.

“Our school board had to write off over $100,000 in meal debt this past spring, but we’re certainly in a much better place because of the wonderful community partners that we have. And the parents that step up and support not only their students but their neighbors,” said Levi Bachmeier, Business Manager for West Fargo Public Schools.

In 2023, the North Dakota legislature passed a bill that requires all schools to provide meals to students, no matter their account balances. But the amount of debt accruing has increased each year.

“So that’s an ongoing conversation that we’re having. How do we make sure that we’re communicating with families to the best of our abilities? To make sure that negative meal balances stay as low as possible and in the event because the law requires us to provide these meals, what do we do with these costs that the school district is now incurring?” said Bachmeier.

Lawmakers had a bill that would have set aside funding for free school lunches for all public school students in both 2023 and 2025, those bills both failed to pass. Currently, students who fit within the 225% federal poverty level can qualify for a free lunch.

“We have the reimbursement from the federal and state governments to ensure that those students are able to eat for free every day. Now we still have you know students above that threshold that we would love to see getting included over time,” said Bachmeier.

West Fargo Public Schools accepts donations to help students pay off their student meal debt. For more information, visit this link.