The Lawrence school board on Monday will consider approving a 10-cent increase to student meal prices for the third consecutive year.
Currently, lunch rates for elementary, middle and high school students who are not in the free and reduced-price lunch program are $3, $3.20 and $3.25. If approved, new prices would be set at $3.10 for elementary, $3.30 for middle and $3.35 for high schools.
Full-price breakfasts for elementary, middle and high school students are currently set at $2, $2.10 and $2.15. New prices would be $2.10 for elementary, $2.20 for middle and $2.25 for high schools.
Adult meals will cost $5.10 for lunch and $3.10 for breakfast, up from $5 and $3.
Update:
• Lawrence school board waits to vote on proposed increase in meal prices, June 9, 2025
Prices “must be sufficient to cover the full cost to produce the meal, including food, labor and supplies,” according to the agenda item.
Reduced-price lunches and breakfasts would remain the same, priced at 40 cents and 30 cents, respectively.
According to the item on the board’s meeting agenda, the district’s weighted paid meal price in 2024-25 was around $3, but the United States Department of Agriculture determined its weighted average price requirement for lunch in 2025-26 is nearly $1 more than that.
Federal law requires local districts to annually adjust their meal prices to align with the USDA, and a 10-cent increase is the minimum allowed each year.
“The Nutrition & Wellness Department is self-supporting and strives to stay that way,” the agenda item says. “The food service department has seen an increase in food, supply, and labor costs (including the cost of employee health insurance) in the past year.”
The recommended meal prices are on the consent agenda — a list of items routinely approved in one motion unless a board member or the superintendent pulls an item for discussion.
In other business
• Annual graduation report: As part of an equity update Monday, administrators will report 2024 graduation data to the board. No presentation materials were attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs as of Friday evening.
• Annual financial audit: The board will consider hiring a consultant to conduct an evaluation of the district’s finances. Kansas law requires local school boards to participate in an independent audit at the end of each fiscal year.
According to the board’s agenda, Gordon CPA Auditing Accounting Consulting performed the audit for the district in 2023 and 2024, and the administration recommended the firm again this year. The fee has increased 4% from the previous year, and the contract would be paid from the board’s audit services fund. The contract is on the consent agenda.
The board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, June 9 at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.
Meetings are open to the public, livestreamed on the district’s YouTube channel, youtube.com/@USD497, and broadcast on Midco channel 26. Full meeting agendas are available on BoardDocs, via go.boarddocs.com.
To give public comment, sign up by noon the day of the meeting by emailing PublicComment@usd497.org. Commenters may request to participate by Webex video/phone conferencing.
Note: This post has been updated from a previous version to reflect updated info in the meeting agenda.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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