According to reports submitted to the Ohio Department of Education about 47 per cent of students in the Boardman Local Schools are deemed economically disadvantaged and eligible for free meals.
     
      BY JOHN A. DARNELL JR.
      associate editor
      In a report provided by Natalie Winkle, food service supervisor for the Boardman Local Schools, during the 2024-25 school year the system provided 256,675 lunches for its students, of which some 61 per cent, or 158,148 were served-up free of charge.
      In addition, the local school food service served some 85,604 breakfast meals, up 15,974 meals from last year’s 70,630 breakfast offerings, Winkle said.
      The Boardman Local School System has an enrollment of 3,649 students. Of that total, 1527 students received free meals, and 319 students received reduced-price meals, according to Winkle.
      Total meals served through May 30, 2025 were 354,134, up 60,494 from last year’s total, the food service director said.
      “I applaud my staff for their hard work and dedication to the students at Boardman Local Schools. The mass amount of meals fed to the students could not have been made without the dedication of the team,” Winkle said.
      She said the school’s food service is “as always struggling with the labor aspect of the department. We are shorthanded and need to fill several positions. Since so many jobs at a higher number of hours and rate are available in the community, finding labor has proven very difficult. We are down seven staff members.”
      Winkle recommended that the Boardman Local Schools return to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) for the 2025-26 school year.
      As part of the NSLP families must submit a Free & Reduced application to receive free/reduced meals. Income eligibility guidelines to qualify for free or reduced price lunches can be based on yearly household incomes, according to guidelines of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act.
      For example, a household size of three persons with a yearly income of $47,767 may qualify for the program. A household size of four persons may qualify if the yearly income is $57,720.
      In addition, all children in households receiving benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Ohio Works First (OWF); foster children that are under the legal responsibility of a foster care agency or court; children participating in their school’s Head Start program; and children who meet the definition of homeless, runaway, or migrant are eligible for free meals.
      Boardman Local Schools notes that families who qualify for the School Meals Program “may qualify for free health coverage” that could include doctor visits, hospital care, immunizations, substance abuse, prescriptions, vision services, dental care, mental health and “much more.”
      According to reports submitted to the Ohio Department of Education about 47 per cent of students in the Boardman Local Schools are deemed economically disadvantaged and eligible for the free meals for which Supt. Chris Neifer said the district is reimbursed through federal programs.
      In 1996, then Boardman Local School Supt. Frank Lazzeri told The Boardman News less than 10 per cent of the student population was rated as economically disadvantaged.
      Breakdown
      •Boardman High School: 61,415 lunches were served, of which 69.28 per cent were free or reduced price, including 20,896 free lunches.
      •Glenwood Jr. High School: 40,801 lunches were served, of which 71.41 per cent were free or reduced price, including 24,684 free lunches.
      •Center Intermediate School: 64,488 lunches were served, of which 74.42 per cent were free or reduced price, including 39,890 free lunches.
      •West Blvd. Elementary School: 33,114 lunches were served, of which 82.85 per cent were free or reduced price, including 22,412 free lunches.
      •Stadium Dr. Elementary School: 25,409 lunches were served, of which 64.32 per cent were free or reduced price, including 13,940 free lunches.
      •Robinwood Lane Elementary School: 30,448 lunches were served, of which 64.32 per cent were free or reduced price, including 20,896 free lunches.
      Translation Contract
      Meeting in May, the Boardman Local School Board approved a contract with a firm called Acutrans, based out of Makena, Ill., to provide translation services to the local school district.
      For example, translation service for Spanish for over the phone interpreting services is $1.25 a minute, video remote interpreting services are $1.49 per minute and on-site interpretation services are $65 an hour, according to the contract.
      “That contract provides support for our non-English speaking families when we have meetings or need documents translated so that we can overcome any language barriers that exist. We have used them in the past. The level of support that we need from them changes from year to year, and is dependent on the needs of our families,” Supt. Chris Neifer said.