ISLE OF WIGHT—Parents dropping lunches off to their children at schools in Isle of Wight County is becoming problematic, Superintendent Dr. Michael McPherson told the School Board Thursday.

The deliveries, McPherson said, tie up office employees, who have to go into the cafeterias and search for students to give them their lunches.

“It’s got to be a nightmare on some days,” said board member T. Hayes Griffin, who represents the Windsor District.

The School Board voted to direct McPherson to work with school principals to develop a procedure and report back to the board.

“If this situation can control itself, I don’t see the need to develop a type of policy,” said board member Kenneth Bunch, who represents the Carrsville District.

School Board Chairman David Goodrich said it’s a “PR problem” to prohibit lunch deliveries, but the school division must get the problem under control.

“If we have office staff that are spending as much as 10 minutes at a time trying to find a child in the cafeteria to give them a lunch, … it’s a true waste of money,” Goodrich said.

At Smithfield High School, as many as 50 lunches are delivered on some days, Principal Rebecca Mercer said.

“On a daily basis, parents bring lunches from Subway, Hardee’s and McDonald’s,” she said. “It may range from 10 to 50 (a day).”

Windsor High School Principal Michael Newman said lunch deliveries aren’t nearly as frequent at his school.

“Occasionally there’s a lunch that might be brought in, but usually it’s some special occasion,” he said. “It’s not a daily thing.”