Oyster River board approves 25¢ meal increase, three‑bus purchase and appoints grievance subcommittee

The Oyster River Cooperative School District board on Aug. 6 approved a series of routine and budget‑related actions, including a 25¢ increase in paid meal prices for breakfast and lunch, an installment‑purchase agreement to buy three buses totaling $410,367, and a vote to appoint the negotiations committee to hear grievances.

The board voted unanimously on the meals increase after a presentation by Meredith, the district’s food service director, who said rising food costs and aging equipment had exhausted the department’s fund balance. Meredith told the board the Nutrition Department expects to carry roughly $26,000 into FY26 and that the proposed 25¢ increase in paid meal prices would generate about $34,000 based on October 2024 participation figures the Department of Education uses for its paid‑equity tool. “If one child were to eat every day with us... the impact of the $0.25 would only be about $40 a year,” Meredith said during the presentation.

The board also authorized entering a five‑year installment purchase agreement with Daimler Truck Financing…