Oct. 7—Pocono Mountain School District will dip into its cafeteria fund to cover the cost of doing business on its electronic lunch system.
The district had earlier decided to pass onto parents a surcharge for using credit cards to add money to students' lunch accounts. But board members reversed course this week, voting for the district to cover those surcharges instead.
For a single child who eats lunch every day of the school year, the total surcharge was about $15 per child in the district.
The district will pay the estimated $40,000 total cost for all students for the year. The charge is paid to point-of-sales software vendor Primero Edge, spokeswoman Wendy Frable said.
This year marked the first time students cannot pay for their lunch with cash in the lunch line, Frable said. The online system allows them to pay by credit card or they can put cash or check in a deposit envelope. The fee only applies for credit card deposits.