Superintendent warns federal change could end free school lunches; outlines enrollment, attendance and community events

The Chino Valley Unified School District superintendent told the board that federal proposals to change the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for the National School Lunch Program could remove the district's universal free breakfast and lunch and force families to begin paying, potentially creating substantial district costs.

The superintendent said the district is watching federal guidance closely and would work with lobbyists if CEP is removed. "If they change that and we go back to what we did for the 2019–2020 school year ... then we will have roughly 40% of our student population who will need to pay full price for lunch," the superintendent said. He said a return to collecting free-and-reduced applications could lead to large unpaid meal balances; the district's projection was that losing CEP could create roughly…