Saturday, August 30, 2003
Uses for the card will expand as the bugs are worked out of the system.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HUBBARD -- The Eagle card has landed.
As if starting the first day of a new school year wasn't exciting enough, children in Reed Middle and Hubbard High schools got to participate in the start of a new program using identification badges.
The photo ID badges -- known as the Eagle card in reference to the district's sports mascot -- debuted Monday in the fifth through 12th grades.
It serves several purposes, Superintendent James Herrholtz said.
"After things like Columbine and Sept. 11, we knew we wanted some extra level of security," he said. "This was a long time coming, even before I got into this position" as superintendent.
Pupils are issued blue lanyards to display their card at all times. The school colors are blue and white.
Uses for cards
In addition to serving as a visual aid to identify pupils, they are also used for several programs throughout the district, most notably lunch periods, Herrholtz said.
School officials noticed the number of pupils receiving free or reduced-price lunches was declining by as much as 30 percent a year when the kids made the transition from the middle school to the high school.
That translated to the district's losing money each year, Herrholtz said, because schools get federal funding based on the number of pupils enrolled in the meal program.
In an effort to ensure the pupils still get healthful lunches and to halt the decline, the Eagle card is used to bring anonymity into the lunch lines.
Herrholtz said the pupils were facing enough pressure as freshmen to fit in, and having to ask for free or lower-priced lunches is an embarrassment.
"That stigma was always there," he said. "We needed to find a way for it to be anonymous and this was the solution."
During lunch times, pupils swipe their cards through a computerized slot and only the cashier can see if the pupil gets a free or reduced-price lunch.
Keeping an account
For pupils not in the program, they or their parents can put money into an account, making the card into a type of debit card.
By tracking all of the information through computers, the cafeteria staff can alert parents when an account is running low on funds.
Each pupil will receive a $10 overdraft protection, which equals one week's worth of lunches, Herrholtz said.
Parents can also have input on whether a particular pupil has dietary restrictions. If the pupil tries to buy something they aren't allowed to have, it will show up on the screen and the cashier can alert the pupil, Herrholtz said.
He said there were some bugs in the system Monday and Tuesday, which resulted in some long lines during lunch periods, but as they are worked out and the program continues, other services can be added, including paying for library fines, swimming at the community pool and getting items from the vending machines.
Seventh-grader Louis Greco used his card Monday and Tuesday for lunch. Though the lines were a little long, it was easier for him than last year, he said.
"It goes way quicker this way," he said, adding now he doesn't have to bother his parents every morning for lunch money.
Jessica Lunt, also in seventh grade, said the lines were so long Monday she was forced to stay after lunch to finish eating, but she still thinks the card's a good idea.
"It's pretty neat," she said. "And it's not that hard" to use.
slshaulis@vindy.com