District reports $51,889 cafeteria surplus for year; state will not continue free meals for reduced-price students

Cafeteria operations posted a $51,889 surplus for the 2024–25 year, though June showed a month loss of $7,232, cafeteria staff told the operations committee Monday. "For the month of June, we had $881.10. I do need to remind everybody that that, the state was paying for reduced price students to get their lunches for free last year, and breakfast. That is not the case this coming year. So, reduced price students will need to pay, for their own meals because the state is not has not voted to extend that," the cafeteria presenter said. Staff reported 29,920 meals served in June with $66,357 in reimbursements tied to those meals. Participation rates for June were reported as follows: breakfast participation — elementary 25.6%, middle school 8.4%, high school 7.6%; lunch participation — elementary 52.5%, middle school 53.2%, high school 25.1%. Committee members asked for the new summary report format to remain the primary packet for operations meetings, with full backup documentation provided to the full board. Staff confirmed the summary will appear first in the packet and that the full documentation will remain linked for review. The committee also noted June participation rates are typically lower because of end-of-year testing and early dismissals. No formal actions were taken concerning cafeteria policy or pricing; the committee was informed of the state change and of participation and balance-sheet figures for oversight.