District solving student transportation and feeding logistics

ELIZABETHTOWN — Meal delivery and concerns around logistics are a part of the issues Bladen County Schools face less than a week before students reenter classrooms, school board members were told at Monday’s regularly scheduled meeting.

“We will have meals service on every school site for face to face learners,” said Amy Stanley, director of Child Nutrition Services. “We will also have meal pickup times for those that are virtual so that means we will have a pickup time that they can come get their lunch for the day and their breakfast for the next day.”

Stanley made it clear that they were working on a modified schedule, and that they were working diligently to get needs addressed.

The number and availability of buses is the issue being solved. Previously, there were dropping off meals; come Monday, they’re ferrying students to and from schools.

Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor offered suggestions to assist with making the adaptations to accommodate more of the children at home, after questions from board members Cory Singletary and Gary Rhoda.

Stanley also shared that the district has been approved to operate under the Department of Health and Human Services at risk supper program, giving students the possibility of another meal. That program is currently offered at East Bladen High School, and will now be at the other schools for meals onsite.

“As of next week we will not be able to deliver door to door until we figure out these bus routes and the availability of staff,” she said.

Those routes that are currently in place on Wednesdays, when all students have virtual learning.

“We were around 51 staff members last year and we are around 44 this year now,” Stanley said. “That’s quite a few less. We are going to work on hiring those folks, but we have to look at available staff to do any delivery or drop off points.”

There will be the option to pick up meals from the schools.

“But when we have to bring back kids to school that limits the number of resources we have,” Taylor said to Singletary.

“As we finalize our data on Wednesday we will be able to share with parents what routes wouldn’t be able to continue next week. We want to come up with the best model and feed all of these kids.”

The district is hopeful that parents who can will pick up meals, rather than having them delivered. This would lessen the need for use of the limited buses and help those in more remote areas and greater need for the delivery.