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Assistance programs seeing pinch
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| Students at South Rabun Elementary School line up for lunch. The system has the highest percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunches in at least 25 years. |
By Blake Spurney Editor
The number of Rabun County Schools students on free or reduced lunches has spiked in recent months.
Marie Chastain, lunch room manager at Rabun Gap Community School, has never seen such a high percentage in her 25 years on the job. At her school, 71.5 percent (143 of 200 students) receives free or reduced lunches.
"Yes, we have had an increase up here," said Principal Judith Ross. "Yes, parents are in more need of help."
System-wide, more than 60 percent of students qualified for the free or reduced lunch program on Oct. 31. That accounts for a 4.5 percent increase compared to a year earlier.
At the same time, enrollment has dipped 105 students as some families have left Rabun in search of work or to live with relatives.
Kim Terrell, school nutrition director, said the percentage of students getting free lunches also is higher than in past years. Some students who qualified for reduced lunches at the beginning of the school year have since come back and applied for free lunches.
In other words, their parents have lost their jobs.
Carolyn Dillard, counselor for RGCS and South Rabun Elementary School, has heard more stories from children whose parents have lost their jobs or are looking for work than past years.
Chastain said few students' families did not have at least one income at the beginning of the year. During the past several months, the number of families without any income has climbed. An increasing number of families have moved in with other family members as their economic situations have worsened.
"I'm just hearing that this child's family has moved here to be with family, but I don't even know the family names," Chastain said.
That shift in population has gone both ways.
Rabun County Middle School Principal Kent Woerner said he had noticed that other families have moved here to live with family. As he pointed out, Rabun has become more and more of a retirement community. When the retirees' children run into hard times, they and their children come to live with grandma and grandpa.
With the situation seemingly becoming more grave every day in the world economy, some are not optimistic that the job situation will get better any time soon. Woerner, whose school has 65 percent of its students receiving free or reduced lunches, said a grandparent told him, "I think this is the second Great Depression."
Because there are many misconceptions about how the lunch program works, teachers, administrators and staff make sure everyone gets an application. "Everyone in the whole school is sent the application home, and we try to encourage them to fill it out whether they think they would qualify or not," Dillard said.
Families only have to fill out one sheet to qualify all their school-age children. Whether a family qualifies is based on income, and the applications are processed by the cafeteria managers. As families' income situations change, they can reapply.
Terrell gives final approval, and all information remains confidential. She said she was required to verify income information on a limited number of applications.
The free or reduced lunch program is managed by the Georgia Department of Education and financed by state and federal funds.
Other government programs also have felt the squeeze from the recession or depression, depending on one's perspective.
The Rabun County Department of Family and Children Services has seen a 28 percent increase in food stamp applications since July. Many of those are first-time applicants. A lot of those are laborers who don't have work lined up because of the collapse of the housing market.
According to DFCS records, $149,386 in public funds was disbursed to 624 households in November, a 36.7 percent increase over the $109,289 for 553 households a year earlier.
To see whether one qualifies for food stamps, visit www.compass.ga.go. Visitors can determine whether they qualify with the prescreening tool. Those who do will be interviewed over the phone.
Number of students on free or reduced lunches
Oct. 31, 2007, 56.2 percent
Oct. 31, 2008, 60.7 percent
Rabun County Schools enrollment
Oct. 31, 2007, 2,349
Oct. 31, 2008, 2,244
Food stamp applications this year
July, 70
August, 67
September, 82
October, 92
November, 90
Marie Chastain, lunch room manager at Rabun Gap Community School, has never seen such a high percentage in her 25 years on the job. At her school, 71.5 percent (143 of 200 students) receives free or reduced lunches.
"Yes, we have had an increase up here," said Principal Judith Ross. "Yes, parents are in more need of help."
System-wide, more than 60 percent of students qualified for the free or reduced lunch program on Oct. 31. That accounts for a 4.5 percent increase compared to a year earlier.
At the same time, enrollment has dipped 105 students as some families have left Rabun in search of work or to live with relatives.
Kim Terrell, school nutrition director, said the percentage of students getting free lunches also is higher than in past years. Some students who qualified for reduced lunches at the beginning of the school year have since come back and applied for free lunches.
In other words, their parents have lost their jobs.
Carolyn Dillard, counselor for RGCS and South Rabun Elementary School, has heard more stories from children whose parents have lost their jobs or are looking for work than past years.
Chastain said few students' families did not have at least one income at the beginning of the year. During the past several months, the number of families without any income has climbed. An increasing number of families have moved in with other family members as their economic situations have worsened.
"I'm just hearing that this child's family has moved here to be with family, but I don't even know the family names," Chastain said.
That shift in population has gone both ways.
Rabun County Middle School Principal Kent Woerner said he had noticed that other families have moved here to live with family. As he pointed out, Rabun has become more and more of a retirement community. When the retirees' children run into hard times, they and their children come to live with grandma and grandpa.
With the situation seemingly becoming more grave every day in the world economy, some are not optimistic that the job situation will get better any time soon. Woerner, whose school has 65 percent of its students receiving free or reduced lunches, said a grandparent told him, "I think this is the second Great Depression."
Because there are many misconceptions about how the lunch program works, teachers, administrators and staff make sure everyone gets an application. "Everyone in the whole school is sent the application home, and we try to encourage them to fill it out whether they think they would qualify or not," Dillard said.
Families only have to fill out one sheet to qualify all their school-age children. Whether a family qualifies is based on income, and the applications are processed by the cafeteria managers. As families' income situations change, they can reapply.
Terrell gives final approval, and all information remains confidential. She said she was required to verify income information on a limited number of applications.
The free or reduced lunch program is managed by the Georgia Department of Education and financed by state and federal funds.
Other government programs also have felt the squeeze from the recession or depression, depending on one's perspective.
The Rabun County Department of Family and Children Services has seen a 28 percent increase in food stamp applications since July. Many of those are first-time applicants. A lot of those are laborers who don't have work lined up because of the collapse of the housing market.
According to DFCS records, $149,386 in public funds was disbursed to 624 households in November, a 36.7 percent increase over the $109,289 for 553 households a year earlier.
To see whether one qualifies for food stamps, visit www.compass.ga.go. Visitors can determine whether they qualify with the prescreening tool. Those who do will be interviewed over the phone.
Number of students on free or reduced lunches
Oct. 31, 2007, 56.2 percent
Oct. 31, 2008, 60.7 percent
Rabun County Schools enrollment
Oct. 31, 2007, 2,349
Oct. 31, 2008, 2,244
Food stamp applications this year
July, 70
August, 67
September, 82
October, 92
November, 90
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