The school meals program has a problem. They are operating in the red because they don't sell enough lunches to qualify for enough state and federal aid to both keep prices down and pay for the program. They don't sell enough meals, because too many students are buying their meals à la carte. The à la carte meals don't have the three approved items that are required to count as a meal for reimbursement purposes.

The District and School Board are considering a two pronged approach: first raise meal prices by 15 cents, and second, raise à la carte prices considerably to encourage students to buy meals. This approach attempts to address the budget problem while preserving choices for the kids.

It assumes that students keep track of what they spend. Do they? Aren't they kids? A lot of students buy their meals from their accounts, and parents put money in the accounts when they are depleted. Are kids tracking what they spend on a daily basis, or just when their accounts empty out? Are parents?

It seems to me that the simplest and most sensible solution is to stop serving a la carte choices. This way all students will buy meals, maximizing state and federal aid. It will have the secondary benefit of being more nutritious. If my kid buys a meal and doesn't eat the whole thing, some of it will be good for him or her. If the kid is hungry he or she might even eat a balanced meal. With à la carte choices this is never going to happen.

Serving meals only would be more healthy for kids and for the food service program alike. Seems like an easy solution that would also help keep meal prices down.