[SchoolMatters] Pay for cafeteria meals online

[Brian Wheeler]

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
This message is not an official communication of the Albemarle County School
Board. SchoolMatters is a private, e-mail newsletter written by Brian
Wheeler, At-Large Member of the Albemarle County School Board.  This
communication authorized by Brian Wheeler for School Board.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

[Want to share some public comments on this message?  See the weblog version
here: http://schoolmatters.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/08/pay_online.html]
 
At a School Board meeting a couple years ago I supported implementation of
an online payment system so parents could track and pre-pay for cafeteria
meals.  This school year parents will be introduced to the Caf¨¦ Prepay
Program.
 
I just went to the website (www.cafeprepay.com) and in 5 minutes created an
account, searched for my children in the database, linked them to my
account, and made initial deposits for each of them at the Henley and
Western cafeterias.  The minimum amount accepted for a child is $42.  One
thing I didn't like was the transaction fee, which for me was $5.04 with $84
in meals purchased.
 
Overall this is great!  It certainly improves the efficiency of the
operation for our school staff. I bet I'll get e-mail alerts when they need
more money too!
 
Brian Wheeler
 
Here is the information from our media release :
 
DATE: August 14, 2007
CONTACT: Christina Pitsenberger, Director Child Nutrition Program
PHONE: (434) 295©\0566
 
Parents Can Make On©\line Deposits into Student Cafeteria Accounts
With Albemarle County¡¯s New Caf¨¦ Prepay Program
 
To make payment of school meals more convenient for families, the Albemarle
County Public Schools Child Nutrition Program is offering parents an
internet©\based service called Caf¨¦ Prepay.  The service is a website where
parents can add money to their child¡¯s cafeteria account using Visa,
MasterCard or Discover Card.  Parents also can view their child¡¯s account
at any time.  This service was activated on Thurs., August 9, 2007.
 
Participation in this service is voluntary and parents may enroll at any
time. To use this service, parents must first enroll on the Caf¨¦ Prepay
website.  Parents will choose a login name, which they will use each time
they make a payment on the website, and a valid e©\mail address, where
payment confirmations will be sent by Comalex.  There is a small fee for
this service.  The fee is to cover the cost of processing credit card
payments, as well as the cost of maintaining the Caf¨¦ Prepay website.
 
Visit the website for more information.  The website address is
www.cafeprepay.com .  If you have questions that are not answered on the
website, please contact the Child Nutrition Program at (434) 295©\0566.
 
Once parents have enrolled on the Caf¨¦ Prepay website and received a
password from Comalex, they will then be able to log in and enter personal
information.  All personal information is stored in a secure database and is
accessed only to process payments and send payment confirmation via email.
Student accounts are automatically updated several times throughout the day.
The school cafeteria will receive a report of payments made at the end of
the school day. 
 
###
 
______________________________________________
If you wish to be removed from this mailing list, just send me a message and
I will immediately unsubscribe you.  To view the archive of past
SchoolMatters messages, visit:
<http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/schoolmatters/>
http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/schoolmatters/
 
If someone forwarded you this message, you may visit this web page to
subscribe:  <http://listserv.bnsi.net/mailman/listinfo/schoolmatters>
http://listserv.bnsi.net/mailman/listinfo/schoolmatters
 
Brian Wheeler
 <mailto:bwheeler at albemarlematters.com> bwheeler at albemarlematters.com
 <http://www.wheeleronboard.com/> http://www.wheeleronboard.com
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://listserv.bnsi.net/pipermail/schoolmatters/attachments/20070815/25a6684e/attachment.html