[August 22, 2011] City school district to seek bids on palm scanner system Tweet Aug 22, 2011 (Reading Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Kids in Reading schools soon may feel like they've been transported to a galaxy far, far away. No, the district isn't going to issue light sabers, start training students to use The Force or make a Wookiee its mascot. But Reading might install payment devices in school cafeterias that would identify students by scanning their palms. "It's cutting-edge technology," said Kurt Myers, director of food service. "It's like 'Star Wars.' " Myers recently asked the Reading School Board for permission to seek bids for the cafeteria computer system, which would likely cost more than $100,000 to buy and install. But it also would save the district nearly $16,000 a year, Myers said, adding that food service profits would cover the cost. The school board is expected to vote on the proposal this week. Reading's current process for kids to order and pay for food is inefficient and out of date, he said. "It's horrible," Myers said. "It might have been OK back in the '70s, but it's a paper system." The existing system is particularly bad for elementary schools. Each week, students are sent home with a card that their parents fill out indicating what the child will eat each day. Students return the cards, which are then sent to the high school so kitchen aides know how many meals to make. The cards then go back to each school for a second count. "We need to turn in the numbers for the free- and reduced-lunch program," Myers said, referring to the federal program for low-income families. "Even if your numbers are just one or two off, you can mark for it." With a computerized system, parents could do all of the ordering either through a home computer or by calling or visiting the school. Each student's palm would be scanned into the system, and when it came time to pay for their meals, they would simply place their hand on a scanner. The scanner would read the palm and all of the student's information would appear on a computer screen. The system also provides nutritional information and recipes, lets parents track food purchases and even has alerts for allergies. It also would make record-keeping for the free-lunch program much easier, Myers said. "It's more efficient and customer friendly," he said. "But the big thing to me is compliance. That's what's important to me." Contact David Mekeel: 610-371-5014 or [email protected]. ___ (c)2011, Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.) To see more of the Reading Eagle (Reading, Pa.), or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to readingeagle.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]