School lunch prices to increase

Breakfast, milk also going up with cost of food, transportation

Friday, May 16, 2008

The cost of food and the fuel to transport it necessitated the change, school administrators said Wednesday at a board of education meeting.

Next school year elementary lunches will cost $2 and middle and high school lunches will cost $2.15, both up 10 cents from this year. The cost of a half-pint of milk will go from 35 cents to 50 cents next school year.

Breakfast will also cost 10 cents more for elementary students and 15 cents more for secondary students at costs of $1.10 and $1.15 respectively.

The increases put St. Mary’s public schools slightly above this year’s state averages, although other counties in the state will likely change next year as well due to skyrocketing food and fuel increases, said Brad Clements, chief operating officer for the public schools.

‘‘I don’t think anyone should have to be surprised that we’re raising the prices a little,” school board member Gary Kessler said.

The food services department is self-sufficient and relies on the costs of meals plus partial reimbursement from federal and state funding, Clements said. The cost to produce each meal is between $2.60 and $2.70.

St. Mary’s schools served nearly 1.6 million lunches and more than 456,000 breakfasts last school year. More than a third of the meals were for students who qualified for free and reduced-price meals. That figure clearly demonstrates the need in the community for the service, Clements said.

‘‘Parents can rest assured that their children will not go hungry at St. Mary’s public schools,” school board member Mary Washington said.

Superintendent Michael Martirano asked of the lunch and breakfast prices, ‘‘Is this increase enough, based on the economic climate?” He said food and fuel prices could continue to rise and the food service budget needed to be self-sufficient.

‘‘We definitely hope so ... our commodities help a lot,” although prices of vegetables will vary throughout the year, Clements said.

The fiscal year 2009 budget for food services is $6.2 million, an increase of close to half a million dollars over the current fiscal year.

The food service budget had racked up a $60,000 debt from extending credit to mostly elementary and middle students in previous years.

‘‘That is well under way to collecting and managing,” Clements said of the debt, which is about 65 percent collected.

New rules this year allowed for only a $5 lunch credit per student after which he or she is given a cheese sandwich and milk, essentially for free. ‘‘We’re not giving them the full lunch, we’re giving them the alternative meal,” which costs the schools about 60 cents apiece, Clements said. Next year the credit will be for three meals.

For the current school year, Calvert public school lunches are $1.90 and $2.05 and Charles public school lunches cost $1.95 and $2.20. State averages are $1.84 and $2.07 this year for elementary and secondary lunches.