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In 1981 Lee Colston, principal of the Hillcrest Elementary School in Logan, Utah, was struggling with the federal regulations that require schools not to overtly identify students who qualify for free and reduced lunch. Having had experience in other schools, he decided ticket sales were out. They were too cumbersome to sell and, once sold, daily lunch statistic counts were virtually impossible. Reluctantly, his school resorted to the roll book method of keeping track of students. This system was accurate but again awkward and time consuming. Lee had just begun using Apple computers in the office to accomplish administrative tasks. He knew the computer was powerful enough to handle his school lunch accounting needs, but the software was just not available. A simple database or spreadsheet was not powerful enough to handle the data manipulation necessary for an effective solution. Lee pleaded with local faculty to write a program for his Apple IIe that would accurately handle school lunch money and provide free and reduced students anonymity. A custom program of this magnitude would take considerable time and effort to design and work properly, a project much larger than a single school would want to sponsor. Realizing that thousands of other schools were in the same dilemma, and could benefit from the software as well, programming began. When developing School Lunch we were very concerned that once completed, it would be broad enough in scope to serve the needs of schools all over the country. It must be affordable, easy to use and understand, safeguard against data entry errors, be accurate, and most importantly get the job done right. Not wanting to support a traveling sales and training staff, we made the program and documentation easy enough that anyone with minimal computer experience could be up and going in a very short time. School Lunch was developed to take advantage of supplies commonly found in schools, standard mailing labels, paper, etc. We wanted schools to be able to print their own bar codes and reports. By allowing schools to do all the work in house and have full control over their operation, we would have the time to do what we enjoy, develop software. By using hardware already owned by schools, cost could be kept to a minimum and equipment repair could be handled locally, reducing down time. With all our safeguards and precautions there still may be questions that come up from time to time. No matter where you are, we're just a phone call away. And chances are, when you call, you'll speak with Lee. When Lee took early retirement from the school system, we decided to utilize his talents on the phone communicating with the same type of people he has spent a lifetime dealing with school professionals. Lee understands the program, the school system, parents and students and we are thrilled he is a part of our team. Lee's school was chosen as a school of excellence in 1985. Of the four schools in Utah chosen to receive the School of Excellence Award that year, three were using our program School Lunch. Over the years, our competitors have tried to copy our concepts, but the competition has just made us stronger. Dollar for dollar we continue to lead the market with the least expensive, most comprehensive and reliable product you can buy. |
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