Board reviews FY26 school nutrition budget; projects $5M then $4M fund balances

The Sioux City Community School District board heard a presentation on the proposed fiscal year 2026 school nutrition budget and acknowledged the information at its Feb. 24 meeting.

Patty Blankenship, a district staff member who presented the budget material, described the school nutrition fund as an enterprise fund accounted for on an accrual basis. She told the board that federal regulations require annual review of the fund's operating balance and that allowable expenses are limited to costs necessary to operate the meal program (for example, salaries, benefits and food supplies). Blankenship said the fund's revenue sources include food sales to students and adults, contracted meals, state and federal grants and donated commodities.

The presentation projected a decrease in net position for FY25 and FY26 but showed projected fund balances of approximately $5,000,000 at the end of FY25 and $4,000,000 at the end of FY26; the presenter said those were adequate balances under current conditions and that the state had temporarily waived the statutory maximum balance requirement. She also said the district's indirect cost charge to the nutrition fund is calculated by the state and currently results in about $400,000 in indirect charges; the district could charge a lower indirect rate if desired.

The presenter noted an illustrative estimate that lunch prices could increase by 10 cents and breakfast by 5 cents when meal prices are later set; the board was not setting meal prices at this meeting. Board members discussed the decision to provide universal free meals at some Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) schools, and how that choice affects sales and fund balances. The board formally acknowledged the information presented; no final pricing or transfer actions were adopted at the meeting.