By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Following a fiscal windfall from the federal government, the Sitka School Board decided Wednesday night to lower the price of breakfasts and lunches by $1.25 at local schools.
The board voted in June to enact a series of price increases for meals in the 2022-23 school year, and Wednesday’s decision lessens the increase in food costs.
The turnabout was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recent announcement that the federal reimbursement rate under the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program was going up by 40 cents.
Sitka Superintendent Frank Hauser said the increase will bring “a reduction of $1.25 for the first meals that are served for... paid lunches, as well as paid breakfasts.”
During the pandemic USDA aid programs allowed the district to offer free meals to students, but those programs have ended. In June, when the district had to budget for school meals again, Hauser said prices for the coming school year reflected the increase in costs that had occurred in the previous two years when meals were provided free.
Hauser said the reason the district is adopting a lower-than-planned price for meals is “looking at trying to support families and support students, while we’re looking at this year as a transition.”
Costs borne by the district, he added, will come out of an account that can be spent only on school food programs.
The board passed the measure unanimously.
“It’s just good to see this, to be able to have some reduction in the cost of food that we’re providing to students,” said board member Tristan Guevin. “Just with the rising cost of groceries, rent, all of that. You know, a lot of families are really struggling.”
Board president Blossom Teal-Olsen concurred.
“This was a very quick answer to some of the comments that we heard from our community members,” Teal-Olsen said. “And so, again, these last few years have been very rough on families and from my own history of having food insecurity, I know how important school lunches can be for families.”
She also encouraged families to apply for free and reduced school lunches.
After the price cut, breakfasts will cost $2, lunch at Baranof Elementary and Keet Gooshi Heen will cost $4.50, The price of lunch at Blatchley Middle School and Sitka High will be $4.75, and lunch at Pacific High will be $5. If a student wants to double up, the price of the second lunch will be $6.75 at all schools.
While food costs are $1.25 lower than originally planned for the 2022-23 school year, prices are still higher than they were in 2020, when lunch at Sitka High was $4, and a meal at Pacific High was $4.25. Lunches at Baranof, Keet and Blatchley were under $4 in 2020, while breakfasts across the district were $1.92.
Enrollment Report
In other business at the Wednesday board meeting Hauser reported that the student count in the district remains below initial projections.
“As of today, this morning we were sitting at 1,111, so we are a little bit shy of what our enrollment number projection was,” the superintendent said. “Again, the final count will take place in October, at the end of October, but at this point we are about 14 students behind our projected counts for the budget,” he said.
The enrollment count is used to determine a district’s share of the state’s per-pupil education funding.
Though enrollment is lower, the superintendent said all buildings are fully staffed.
“We are fully staffed in the school district, so we’re really excited about that,” Hauser said. “Schools worked really hard and we had some great applicants and we’re really excited to be fully staffed. We still have a couple of para(professional) positions available, but we just had interviews with those and we just hired some more people.”
Also Wednesday, the board approved a high school basketball trip to Idaho in December and a combined Spanish and marine biology class trip to Costa Rica in March. The board meets again Oct. 5 in Centennial Hall.
Wednesday’s meeting also was held in Centennial Hall. The meeting began with Hauser introducing this year’s new teachers, who stood to be recognized, as teachers in the audience applauded.
