Students eligible for free, lower-priced lunches inch higher in region

The percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches in local school districts has inched upward the past five years, indicating poverty has risen as well.

In Cape Girardeau public schools, students with free-and-reduced eligibility ratcheted upward to well over 60 percent between 2012 and 2016, according to a district report card from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

In 2016, 64.8 percent of the district's 2,487 students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. The previous year, 64.7 percent of 2,534 children qualified.

In 2014, 64.4 percent qualified, 62.4 percent in 2013 and 62.7 percent in 2012.

Superintendent Jim Welker said the students receiving the greatest concentration of the free and reduced-price lunches were enrolled at Jefferson, Franklin and Blanchard elementary schools.

Madison Tipton holds onto the table as she gets a different angle on lunch Thursday at Orchard Drive Elementary in Jackson. The child shown isn’t necessarily part of the free or reduced-cost lunch program.Laura Simon

"Jefferson is probably the highest," he said, although he did not have specific figures in front of him.

At the middle and junior-high schools, the concentration is about the same, while the high school generally is lower.

Typically, he said, that is because high-school students often don't return the forms needed to qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, whether it's because they neglect to do so or because they're embarrassed. However, students who receive free or reduced-price meals have the same access cards as those who pay full price, so the only one who knows their lower-income status is the person accepting their PIN numbers at the cash register.

"It's kept anonymous to make sure students don't have a stigma about being free or reduced," Welker said.

Missouri has shown a similar upward trend in the past five years. The state reports 49.5 percent of students qualified for free and reduced-price lunches in 2012. The number rose steadily to 51.7 percent in 2016.

In the Jackson school district, free and reduced-price numbers inched from 35.6 percent in 2012 to 38.9 percent in 2016.

Although the numbers rose by almost a percentage point per year during that time frame, according to the DESE figures, superintendent John Link said one of the good things about providing free or discounted meals is being able to qualify for funding.

"The state will pay us so much per meal, but if a child is free or reduced, the state will pay us so much more per meal," he said.

In 2016, 38.9 percent of the Jackson district's 1,833 students qualified for free and reduced lunches. The previous year, 37 percent of 1,712 qualified; 36.9 percent qualified in 2014; 36.3 percent in 2013; and 35.6 percent in 2012.

DESE figures indicate as attendance rose during that five-year period, so did the number of eligible students.

"I think when you look at Jackson as a whole, we're pretty consistent in that mid- to upper-30 range," Link said.

Having a higher concentration of children receiving the lunches helps in applying for need-based grants or federal funding through the Title I program. In Jackson, that means having extra reading teachers for children who need them most.

In Cape Girardeau, it means more teacher's aides, supplies, computers, tutoring and other learning tools, Welker said.

But, as in Cape Girardeau, the Jackson district always is striving to ensure forms are filled out and returned, especially with new families moving in.

Link said elementary schools are where the need appears to be greatest in Jackson, but parents of younger children also tend to be more involved in filling out forms and keeping up with paperwork.

Meanwhile, students in the upper grades follow a similar pattern to Cape Girardeau's by not handing in forms as much as children in the lower grades, Link said.

In the Scott City and Perry County school districts, eligibility for free and reduced-price lunches over 50 percent and trending higher.

In 2016, 58 percent of Scott City's 469 students were eligible, 56.5 percent in 2015, 55.1 percent in 2014, 54.9 percent in 2013 and 54.5 percent of 427 students in 2012.

In Perry County's District 32, 52.8 percent of students of 1,160 were eligible for free or reduced meals in 2016, 51.8 percent in 2015, 52.3 percent in 2014, 52.2 percent in 2013 and 51.1 percent in 2012.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

301 Clark St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.

3000 Main St., Scott City, Mo.

326 College St., Perryville, Mo.

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Free, reduced-price lunch trends

2012 2016

Cape Girardeau 62.7% 64.8%

Jackson 35.6% 38.9%

Scott City 54.5% 58.0%

Perryville 51.1% 52.8%

Missouri 49.5% 51.7%

Source: Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education