School Board Briefs

OISD Board discusses free lunch for all The Board of Trustees for the Olney Independent School District is considering how to expand the free lunch program to all students next year, board president Summer Branum said.

The board talked about whether the school district could afford to pay for the approximately 33 percent of OISD students who do not qualify for free or reduced lunches, Mrs. Branum said.

The board took no action at its Feb. 26 meeting but will take up the idea again after it receives updated numbers of children who eat for free or $1 per day as part of a federal program, she said. “By April we could decide yea or nay on that. We couldn’t make the decision based on last year’s numbers,” she said. “We would really like to do it.”

Board considers new grading system for OES The school board also discussed whether to change the grading system for Olney Elementary School to reflect whether younger children are meeting developmental goals. “Instead of A, B or C [grades], parents would ge a list of things your kindergartener should be able to do … such as know their numbers to 100, or their ABCs, for example,” she said.