The Merrimack Valley School Board on Dec. 1 debated whether to increase the planned January school-lunch price rise beyond 15¢ but rejected an amendment that would have raised the January step to 25¢.

Board members discussed data from the district’s Paid Lunch Equity (PLE) tool: Sam, the district’s finance representative, said the PLE tool recommended a $0.91 increase in August and, after a later run, recommended about $0.80. The district implemented an initial 10¢ rise at the start of the school year and had scheduled a 15¢ increase for January. The motion debated at the meeting sought to increase the January step to 25¢ (which board members clarified would mean 10¢ already implemented plus an additional 25¢ later in the year in some proposals; discussion clarified the intended effect), a change proponents argued would move closer to the PLE recommendation and reduce the food-service deficit.

Sam estimated the 25¢ option would set breakfast at about $2.00 and elementary lunch at about $2.85, producing roughly $8,000 in additional revenue for the last ~102 school days compared with the already scheduled 15¢ step. Opponents said a midwinter change would surprise families and that the incremental revenue was small compared with the overall shortfall; several members urged developing a clear policy and running the PLE tool before June so families could receive timely notice for the following school year.

Chair called a roll-call vote. The tally was: Tracy Brickey (No); Tom Laliberte (No); Melissa Muzzy (No); Jessica Wheeler Russell (No); Laura Vincent (No); David Nesbitt (No); Julia Jones (No); Stacy Jarvis (No); Lorna Carlisle (No); Amanda York (Yes). The motion failed, and the scheduled 15¢ increase will take effect in January as previously approved.

Board members asked staff to run the PLE tool and prepare analysis ahead of budget deliberations in spring so the board and families have more complete notice about potential changes for the following year.

Next steps: staff will incorporate PLE-tool output into June/May budget materials and the board will revisit lunch pricing and comparative metrics for similar districts in the spring.