Carroll County families can cross lunch money off their back-to-school to-do lists. The district will provide free breakfast and lunch to every student starting in the 2025-2026 school year, regardless of family income.
🍎 Why It Matters: This eliminates a significant expense for thousands of families and removes the paperwork hassle of applying for meal assistance. No more lunch debt, no more applications, no more kids going to school hungry.
📋 What’s Happening: Carroll County Schools qualified for the Community Eligibility Program, which kicks in when districts have high percentages of low-income students.
• The program lets schools serve free meals to everyone without collecting income applications
• Families won’t need to fill out any paperwork for the 2025-2026 school year
🎯 The Big Picture: This reflects a broader trend of Georgia school districts adopting universal free meal programs. The approach recognizes that hunger doesn’t discriminate and that feeding all kids removes barriers to learning.
The Sources: Carroll County Schools.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
