By Times staff
MONROE - Parents will pay 10 cents more for school lunches and 5 cents more for milk next year.
That will bring the cost of lunch to $2.20 for elementary students; $2.45 for middle school students; and $2.65 for high school students. Adult lunches will increase to $3.35. Milk will cost 40 cents.
Breakfast prices will also increase 10 cents next year, and will range from $1.15 at the elementary schools to $1.60 at the high school.
The Monroe school board approved the price increases April 28, based on a recommendation from the finance committee in March.
While this is the third year in a row milk and lunch prices have increased, district business manager Ron Olson said Monroe's prices will still be below other schools in the area.
The price increase is intended to help move the district's weighted-average for school lunches closer to $2.65, the federal standard for next year. It will also help keep the food service fund balance from dipping too low. The fund balance was once about $100,000, but currently stands at about $40,000, a number Olson said he is comfortable with. That amount includes about $10,000 in inventory, such as unused food supplies. The fund balance is needed to cover eventual equipment costs, such as stove or refrigeration units.
The district has been losing money from the milk break program - about $11,000 for each of the past two years. The state has not been fully funding the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, Olson said. The state prorates the amount each district receives based on how much was allocated for the program, with schools receiving milk reimbursement money up to a year and a half after the milk was purchased and consumed.
Over the past few years, as the program has not been fully funded, "prices have gone up, usage has gone up," Olson said.
Other school fees for next year will remain the same. One fee, the $6 middle school assignment book fee, was dropped; students are now expected to use their district-issued iPad to keep track of schoolwork instead of using a paper assignment book.
Families who qualify for free or reduced lunches can also request to be exempt from paying fees, or to pay reduced fees. Income guidelines are the same as those for free lunch, but the board opted to continue to require families to fill out paperwork to request the fee waiver instead of automatically making them eligible by qualifying for free or reduced lunches.
A complete list of breakfast and lunch prices is available on the school's website at monroeschools.com.
MONROE - Parents will pay 10 cents more for school lunches and 5 cents more for milk next year.
That will bring the cost of lunch to $2.20 for elementary students; $2.45 for middle school students; and $2.65 for high school students. Adult lunches will increase to $3.35. Milk will cost 40 cents.
Breakfast prices will also increase 10 cents next year, and will range from $1.15 at the elementary schools to $1.60 at the high school.
The Monroe school board approved the price increases April 28, based on a recommendation from the finance committee in March.
While this is the third year in a row milk and lunch prices have increased, district business manager Ron Olson said Monroe's prices will still be below other schools in the area.
The price increase is intended to help move the district's weighted-average for school lunches closer to $2.65, the federal standard for next year. It will also help keep the food service fund balance from dipping too low. The fund balance was once about $100,000, but currently stands at about $40,000, a number Olson said he is comfortable with. That amount includes about $10,000 in inventory, such as unused food supplies. The fund balance is needed to cover eventual equipment costs, such as stove or refrigeration units.
The district has been losing money from the milk break program - about $11,000 for each of the past two years. The state has not been fully funding the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, Olson said. The state prorates the amount each district receives based on how much was allocated for the program, with schools receiving milk reimbursement money up to a year and a half after the milk was purchased and consumed.
Over the past few years, as the program has not been fully funded, "prices have gone up, usage has gone up," Olson said.
Other school fees for next year will remain the same. One fee, the $6 middle school assignment book fee, was dropped; students are now expected to use their district-issued iPad to keep track of schoolwork instead of using a paper assignment book.
Families who qualify for free or reduced lunches can also request to be exempt from paying fees, or to pay reduced fees. Income guidelines are the same as those for free lunch, but the board opted to continue to require families to fill out paperwork to request the fee waiver instead of automatically making them eligible by qualifying for free or reduced lunches.
A complete list of breakfast and lunch prices is available on the school's website at monroeschools.com.