This message was emailed to families on Friday, October 22. If you have not received it, please contact your child's school office to update your contact information.
Dear Wayland-Cohocton Families:
We are pleased to inform you that the USDA free lunch and breakfast program is being extended for the 2021-2022 school year. All children attending school may get breakfast and/or lunch at school for free. There is no necessary paperwork to complete in order to receive the meals, your child just needs to access the meals at school.
Based on general data, we believe the district can meet the necessary threshold of total eligible participants, to qualify for free meals for all children for the 2022-2023 school year. However, in order to do so, applications must be submitted this year by eligible families. We ask you to consider doing so before the Thanksgiving break.
During COVID some programs have been introduced like the PEBT program. Families qualified if they had met the free and reduced meals guidelines at their local school. Meeting the income guidelines and following through with the necessary paperwork to prove that qualification is essential in receiving these services.
Currently the free meal program is universal, and does not require the completion of paperwork in order to participate. However, the income data collected from the paperwork also helps generate our school aid. This aid is used to offset expenses. School aid is determined by a number of factors, one of which is the percentage of families meeting the income guidelines listed below.
The attached chart outlines family size and income that under normal circumstances, would qualify a family for the free and reduced meal program.
We are asking that if your family income meets these parameters, you submit an application to the district (address is included on the application). If you aren’t certain you meet the guidelines, call us or complete the paperwork and you will be notified. The information is confidential and only the gathered data is reported, no personal information or income connected to individuals is reported.
Free and Reduced Meal Application
Free and Reduced Meal Application Directions
While we are not mandating completing the application, we are asking that you consider doing so in order to meet the goal for free meals for all students 2022-2023/. If you have questions, you are welcome to contact me at (585) 728-2212 ext 3086 to discuss the matter further. I want to reiterate that the information is kept confidential and names and income data are not used in reporting the qualifying percentages.
We appreciate your assistance in gathering this information, which can benefit the district as a whole. As the district’s state aid fluctuates during a time of increasing expenses, the impact on the tax levy can be substantial. Anything we can do as a community to offset that, benefits everyone.
Again, thank you for consideration in completing the application.
Adam Button
Director of Business, Finance and Facilities