The Elizabethtown Area School District board voted by roll call at its November meeting to temporarily waive parts of district donation policy 07/2002 so area churches may donate directly to a campaign to eliminate student lunch debt.

Board member Missus Lindemuth moved a motion to waive the donor‑form requirement and the requirement that donations above $1,000 receive prior board approval, with the waivers applying only to gifts explicitly designated for student lunch‑debt relief between Dec. 1, 2025 and the conclusion of the 2025–26 school year. The motion was seconded and approved by roll call.

CFO Tom Strickler told the board the district’s total negative lunch balances are about $34,000–$38,500, with roughly $4,500 in negative balances held by families already approved for free and reduced lunch (those past balances are not covered retroactively by state or federal reimbursements). The district intends to prioritize payments for currently eligible families and then households close to eligibility.

Community volunteers from the Elizabethtown Church of the Brethren and Littlestown Area Churches presented the proposal; Amy Carr and others described a community campaign and asked the board to remove procedural barriers to accepting large or multiple donations. The board and administration emphasized that cafeteria negative balances cannot be paid from the cafeteria fund and that any district write‑off would hit the general fund.

The vote enables the district to accept targeted donations quickly while the board and administration said they would provide oversight for how funds are applied to student accounts.