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Exeter board models FY27 budget assuming free school meals for half the students, extends current pause through Jan. 5, 2026
Summary
After a long budget debate, the Exeter School Board voted to present the FY27 budget modeled on 50% meal utilization and extended a temporary pause on caregiver meal charges through Jan. 5, 2026; staff warned the change could reduce some federal grant calculations and the board asked for follow‑up data.
The Exeter School Board voted Thursday to amend its proposed FY27 budget to assume the operating budget would cover school meal charges for an estimated 50% of students and to extend the district’s temporary pause on caregiver meal payments through Jan. 5, 2026.
The board’s deliberations centered on the tradeoffs between removing barriers to meals for families and the budgetary and federal‑funding implications of doing so. Speaker 4, who led the central‑office briefing, said the district’s meal policy (EFAA) requires that “no student will be refused a meal for having a negative meal balance,” and presented planning scenarios staff used to estimate costs if the district covered meals beyond the current pause.
Why it matters: the change shifts revenue assumptions in two places.…
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