District administrators told the board that the October 1 count of free and reduced‑price meal applications reached 70.7 percent of students, a threshold that increases the district's state Every Student Achieve (ESA) allocation for next school year.

"We had 80 percent of our students in our district fill out an application this year... What that turned into was 70.7% of our district qualified for free and reduced lunch this year," said Patrick, a district administrator. He explained that because the district topped the 70 percent threshold, the per‑student ESA allocation rises from $513 per qualifying student to $1,026 per qualifying student under the state formula.

Patrick said the change will increase ESA funding from roughly $1.4 million in the current year to an estimated $3.1 million next year, which the district expects to use for nurses, school resource officers, instructional coaches and interventionists. He framed the increase as a partial offset for federal funding the district previously lost after a poor census count.

Staff credited a concerted outreach effort to encourage families to complete applications, highlighting work by food‑service and school leaders. "Josh and Michelle... got on the phone and they really worked hard for about 2 weeks at the end to try to get us over that hump," Patrick said.

The board did not take formal action on the funding at the meeting; the item was presented as part of the superintendent's report. District leaders said they will incorporate the increased ESA allocation into next year’s budgeting and program planning.