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Milton schools gauging interest in breakfast plan

MILTON — They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but many children come to school in Milton with empty tummies, district officials said.

The district is considering offering school breakfast for the first time next year. It's surveying parents and students to find out the need and support for a breakfast program.

Studies show children who skip breakfast suffer academically and physically, officials said.

Most parents provide breakfast to their children, but some run short on time or money, said Jim Degan, district nutrition director. Some children aren't hungry as soon as they wake up.

The children often tell teachers they haven't eaten, and the teachers or other staff provide snacks such as breakfast bars, Superintendent Bernie Nikolay said.

"We meet the need informally now," he said. "We'd like to do it in a better way."

As Degan envisions it, the program would provide breakfast to elementary and intermediate students in the classroom, probably during morning announcements. Middle and high school students would have extra time between first and second periods to buy a bagged lunch they could eat during second period.

The breakfasts would cost $1.15, with free or reduced breakfast going to students who qualify for free or reduced lunch. The program would receive federal funding and follow federal nutrition guidelines.

"It's a good program, and they get meal components instead of just getting fat to their diets," Degan said.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has been encouraging districts to establish breakfast programs, said Rob Roy, school board president.

"A lot of the states have a lot more breakfast programs than Wisconsin has," he said.

Nikolay said he supports the program as long as it's economically viable. The school nutrition program is self-sustaining, and the breakfast program would have to be, too.

The district handed out paper surveys to children in kindergarten through sixth grade last week, and it's asking older students and parents to take an online survey from the district Web site.

So far, parents have been about 50-50 in favor of the program, and about two-thirds of the students support it, Degan said.

If it doesn't look like enough families would participate, the district might launch a pilot program at one or two schools, Nikolay said.

Degan plans to keep the survey open through next week, he said. Then he will present his findings to the school board.

If the school board approves the program this summer, Degan can put it in place by fall, he said.

Roy said he's glad the district is looking into the program.

"If we can provide breakfast for kids who don't get much for breakfast or provide that as an option for parents who have to get going early … I think that's a good opportunity for our families," he said.

To take the survey

The Milton School District asks parents and students in seventh grade and up to take a breakfast survey online.

To take the survey, visit www.milton.k12.wi.us and click on the link under "breakfast survey."