From sign-out sheets to the privilege card system, restrictions on students’ ability to go out for lunch have increased over the past two years. All students will have to stay inside for lunch by next year, according to Dean Erie Lugo.

The goal is to allow the students to have a more enjoyable lunch experience, according to Lugo.

"Forget the food. It's all in the construction. Electrical, duct work, new cabinets, sneeze guards, new dishwasher, new oven, and a freezer," said Lugo. "The storage room in the back is going to have fire sprinklers."

But when the New Jersey Department of Education visited the school last year, the state representatives had to taste the food that was being served during lunch, and they disagreed with Lugo's theory.

"The quality of the food had them realize that the menu and kitchen was in need of fixing. They said if you want to keep the students inside, then you have to feed them good food that they'll like," Lugo said.

Lugo said he wants students to have an enjoyable experience during lunch while being inside, and he intends to make that happen.

Sophomore Edwin Rodriguez said he thinks that going out is a time to be free and he enjoys lunch outside.

“Lunch time is our only time to hang out and stuff, and I don’t want to be inside all the time,” Rodriguez said.

Junior Darryl Mahoney said it’s unfair to stay inside for lunch.

“I’m not a green or gold card right now, but if I was, I earned the right to go out and it shouldn’t be taken away from me,” Mahoney said. “Besides, the [school] food is cold and tastes like it’s half cooked.”

Mahoney isn’t the only one concerned about the quality of the school lunch food; sophomore Jeramy Pineda called it “unapproachable.”

Lugo said that this project will start as soon as school finishes in June, and will be completed by the middle of August.

"The kids are obviously going to hate staying inside, but at the end of the day, inside is where they're safer and they'll be getting food for a decent price."