At the Oct. 14 meeting of the Niskayuna Central School District Board of Education an ex officio student board member told the board that crowded cafeteria lines and food‑quality problems are affecting students’ ability to eat and attend class.

“The biggest thing that I’ve heard … is regarding the cafeteria. A lot of the complaints have been regarding that … it’s always packed … the lines … oftentimes outside of the cafeteria,” the student said, adding that “there was one day where there was sour cream that was served that was expired by multiple months” and that guacamole had been served past its use date.

The comment came during the students’ report and drew several followups from administrators, who said the district is treating the problems as operational growing pains tied to a large increase in meals served.

Superintendent Momaday told the board the district has seen a roughly 300 percent increase in lunch consumption year over year: “In September, we served about 8,000 lunches. This year, 24,000.” He said the district is making adjustments to service lines, ‘‘to the flows, to how food is prepared for grab and go,’’ and will continue to troubleshoot interim fixes while longer‑term changes are planned.

Students also raised concerns about the Yondr‑style pouches used to limit visible phone use and inconsistent enforcement at entrances and in bathrooms. A district staff member answered that security monitors are a different classification than security guards and that “the authority to search student belongings at the high school resides with the principal and the assistant principals, and there’s a very strict protocol for when students’ belongings were subject to search.” The staff member said phone‑pouch enforcement has been uneven and that consistent procedures would help students comply.

Students reported additional operational issues: long breakfast lines that cause tardiness and repeated bus problems for athletic trips. In response, district staff described an active recruitment campaign for additional bus drivers and said they are exploring a stand‑by pool of drivers for athletics and field trips. The superintendent acknowledged staffing shortages for some afternoon runs and said the district is ‘‘exploring … a pool of drivers who might not want the full time responsibility’’ but could cover events.

District officials named staff they will task with followup. The superintendent said he would meet with the food‑service director and high‑school administration to pursue short‑term service‑line changes, and transportation staff will continue targeted recruitment and route redesign to reduce chronic lateness.

Board members thanked the student speakers for specific suggestions — including the idea of a teacher‑issued pass to use a shorter line for students leaving class — and asked administrators to report back with proposed interim steps.

Without a formal motion, the board did not adopt definitive policy changes during the meeting; administrators characterized the next steps as operational directions and follow‑up tasks to be reported to the board.

The discussion signals immediate district attention to food‑service operations, phone‑pouch enforcement and athletic transportation; administrators said they will provide updates as interim fixes are implemented and new hires are recruited.