Cloverleaf discusses possibly feeding students during extended calamity days

WESTFIELD TWP. — The Cloverleaf Board of Education is considering potentially having the district provide meals to students during extended calamity days in the future. The board discussed the matter during its work session Wednesday. School was most recently canceled at Cloverleaf for three days last week due to winter weather. "You could probably tell in my voice that I wasn't as delighted making the call for Wednesday," Superintendent Daryl Kubilus said. "No. 1, that's a lot of school to miss, and I understand the burden that creates on parents. The first thing I usually think about when I call to make a snow day decision is those kids that we have that may not get to eat enough that day." As a result, he recently talked to Omnia Nasef, Cloverleaf's director of food and nutrition services, about the possibility of feeding kids when there are extended calamity days. "I'm not talking about one calamity day, that might be too much planning to get together," Kubilus said. "Usually when there's two or three especially, we'll have a little bit of advance notice for that food to be ordered. The types of food we'd be serving would be a little different, more of a heat-and-eat style." Nasef reached out to the state and was told that since Cloverleaf is not at 50 percent for free and reduced meals, the state will not reimburse meals for calamity days unless the district does virtual learning. "This board has had discussions about (virtual learning) in the past," Kubilus said. "Considering the minimum hours you need, there's really not a whole lot of sense in doing it." A ballpark estimate for the cost for the district to provide breakfast and lunch is $6.50 per child, he said. Therefore, the total cost would primarily depend on the number of kids who would want the service, which is currently unknown. The board agreed that it would be good for the district to look into feeding kids during extended calamity days. Kubilus said he will come up with a resolution on the topic and present it to the board at a future board meeting. "God forbid we have another calamity of three days or more, which on the extended forecast, I don't think we're going to have within the next two weeks," he said. "I'll work on some logistics with Omnia (Nasef)." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.