Anchor Bay board votes to prepare to reinstate meal charges if state funding lapses

The Anchor Bay School District Board of Education voted on Sept. 24 to continue funding universal student meals through Oct. 31 and to implement meal charges for students who do not automatically qualify for free meals beginning Nov. 1 if the Michigan Legislature does not provide new funding.

The action, approved unanimously by roll call, follows presentations from Assistant Superintendent Todd Rathbun and district finance staff who said the state portion of the current temporary meal funding is worth roughly $200,000 a month to the district.

Rathbun told the board: “The impact ... is roughly about $200,000 a month for breakfast and lunch that the state is paying for.” He said the district is treating guidance from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) as provisional and is waiting for specific rules about how districts should respond if state funding ends.

Why it matters: Anchor Bay is a Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) district, which allows districts with certain poverty metrics to feed all students without collecting free-and-reduced applications. Rathbun explained that being in CEP creates a “catch-22”: while CEP can let the district draw more federal reimbursement and use food-service fund balances, CEP rules normally prevent districts from collecting the standard free-and-reduced applications that would be needed if the district were to return to the traditional charging model.

Board discussion and rationale

Rathbun told the board the district has about $1.617 million in its food-service fund and recommended using that balance to maintain service through Oct. 31 in order to avoid an immediate interruption to meals while the district seeks clarification from MDE. “Although that will cost the district roughly, you know, $200 to $220,000 out of our food-service fund, we think it makes a lot of sense to keep that continuity going,” he said.

Board members pressed for detail about alternatives. Rathbun and other staff explained options: (a) continue as CEP and draw on the food-service fund for October and hope the state budget restores the categorical lunch funding; (b) give 30 days’ notice to opt out of CEP so families can complete free-and-reduced applications and the district can charge those who do not qualify; or (c) use general-fund reserves if necessary. Staff said they had asked MDE for clarification about whether giving notice to exit CEP would permit the district to start collecting free-and-reduced applications sooner; Rathbun said the nutrition contact at MDE indicated that the district’s requested approach “seems reasonable, but I need to check on that.”

Financial context

Rathbun walked the board through recent meal-reimbursement history: pandemic-era universal meals, partial state supplements in 2023–24 and 2024–25, and the district’s current CEP status. He summarized last year’s reimbursements as about $460,000 for breakfasts and roughly $1.2 million for lunches from the state grant, “just under $1.8 million in total.” He warned that districts that are not CEP-eligible would need to use general-fund dollars if the state grant disappears.

Board action and vote

The board approved a resolution directing district staff to continue funding meals through Oct. 31 and to implement meal charges for nonqualified students on Nov. 1 unless the state includes a specific school-meal allocation in its enacted budget. The motion was made by Board Member Michael Powers and seconded by Board Member Miss Knox; roll-call votes recorded all members present voting yes.

Looking ahead

Rathbun and finance staff said the district will continue to monitor state budget action and update families quickly. The district plans to communicate next steps to parents after the first week of October once staff have the latest information from Lansing and MDE. They also said they will avoid draining the food-service fund to zero and would return to the board before making longer-term commitments.

Source and evidence

This article is based on the board meeting presentation and vote during the Anchor Bay School District Board of Education meeting on Sept. 24, 2025. Quoted material and financial figures are drawn from Assistant Superintendent Todd Rathbun’s remarks during the presentation.