Staff Report
TUSCALOOSA | Two-thirds of students in city schools qualify for free or reduced price lunch while, for the first time, a majority of students in county schools qualify for the federal program.
Officials say the actual level of need may be much higher, as families struggle in a tough economy despite some signs of better days ahead.
In the Tuscaloosa County School System, 41 percent of students received free and reduced lunch in 2007-2008. This school year, 52 percent of students are on that list.
In Tuscaloosa City Schools, 63 percent of the system’s students received free and reduced lunch in 2007-2008, and this year 66 percent of students receive it.
