Lee Pulaski, lpulaski@shawanoleader.com
The Shawano School Board was clearly divided Monday as members voted 5-3 to increase school lunch prices by a dime.
Elementary school students who do not qualify for free or reduced-price lunches will be paying $2.20 per lunch this fall. Middle and high school students will be charged $2.35 per meal. Adult meals will be $3.20.
Breakfast prices will not be affected.
Board members Bruce Milavitz, Derek Johnson and Beth McFarlane voted against the increase.
“At some point, the people who pay won’t be able to continue to pay,” Milavitz said.
Congress in 2010 passed stricter guidelines for school lunches. Championed by first lady Michelle Obama, the new standards have been phased in over the last two school years, with more changes coming in 2014-15.
While the government provides additional funding to schools that meet updated nutritional standards for federally subsidized lunches, some schools say the reimbursement is inadequate to pay for the healthier foods required by the law.
Schools implementing the changes also say students are throwing away more food that they are required to take in lunch lines but don't want to eat.
Fischer said she anticipates lunch participation will go down this year, like it did last year, but attributed the decline to the stricter nutritional guidelines rather than meal prices.
The a la carte items are expected to go away within a year as the guidelines tighten even further, she said.
“Next year, I wouldn’t be surprised if we lose money based on that,” Fischer said.
According to statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, 51.3 percent of Shawano public school students qualified for free and reduced meals during the 2013-14 school year.