the essential
Decazeville elected officials have approved the new pricing system for the school canteen, put in place from next September.
The pricing of the school canteen for the year 2024-2025 in Decazeville public schools was voted on at the last municipal council, unanimously. A total approval, rare on the prices of the school canteen, which the elected representatives of the majority welcome. In question, a reduction in the price compared to the year 2023-2024 and the implementation of packages, “like in college”.
“The price will be €45 per month for the four days. If we bring it back to the unit price of the meal, it comes to €3.13. There is therefore a reduction in the price of 3.13%. We have not not kept up with inflation”, explain Sylvie Tarbouriech and Romain Smaha, assistants in charge of school affairs and youth affairs respectively, who specify that “85% of students eat there four days a week”. Other packages will be available. For 1 to 3 meals per week, the amount will rise to €40 per month.
For non-resident students in Decazeville, it will be €72 per month for a weekly package of four meals and €55 per month for a package of 1 to 3 meals. Regardless of the place of residence, the amount of the occasional meal will amount to €5 each.
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Record unpaid bills in the canteen
A system which also allows better recovery of unpaid debts, “record in 2023 with €27,000, or 20% of expected revenue”, raises the issue among elected officials. Indeed, at the public treasury, reminders to users of their debts are only made above a certain amount, rarely reached in unit pricing.
“The canteen is a service. We can understand that there are social difficulties but there are systems that exist at the CCAS level to help occasionally pay for the canteen which are never used”, regrets Romain Smaha, recalling that legally it is possible to exclude a child from the canteen in the event of repeated non-payment and if no steps have been taken to regularize the situation. A nevertheless cumbersome procedure.
Beyond this monthly flat rate pricing, several measures have therefore been taken. Payment will be made in advance the previous month, parents will commit to quarterly periods of presence of their children in the canteen and in the event of unjustified absence, the meal will be billed.
Registration for the canteen for the 2024 school year will be done during hours on the first floor of the town hall, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. without appointment on Monday June 10, Tuesday June 11, Wednesday June 12 and Friday June 28. The office will also be open on Thursday June 26 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. “Parents will have to register their child, otherwise there will be no meals in September,” warns the municipality.
A new name for the Sailhenc school
Please note that the children from the leisure center will be welcomed this summer in the city center, at the Jean-Macé school, and not at the Sailhenc school as has been the case since 2016. The latter will also change its name to the next school year following the administrative merger between kindergarten and elementary school. The name of a famous woman would have been chosen.
