District seeks to add two high schools to Community Eligibility program; state breakfast bill could change costs

The finance committee was told on Feb. 9 that the district recommends adding Millbrook High School and Bass Hoover to the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows schools with sufficiently high direct-certification rates to provide free breakfast and lunch without collecting individual free-and-reduced applications.

Ms. Anderson said both schools’ Individual Student Percentage (ISP) — the percentage of students identified via direct certification such as SNAP enrollment — has reached roughly 40%, a common threshold for CEP participation. She said adding those two schools would not require additional operating funds because federal reimbursement would offset the local subsidy for those buildings.

Staff also told the committee they have estimated CEP expansion would cost roughly $900,000 to extend breakfast and lunch to all schools based on current knowns, and that fully adding all schools as CEP today could require up to an additional $900,000 (to bring the district's CEP-funded schools to full coverage) for breakfast and lunch or up to $2,000,000 depending on assumptions. Ms. Anderson said the district is watching a proposed state bill that would fund universal breakfast; the division can estimate its current breakfast costs now but cannot yet say how much state legislation would offset the district’s projected $900,000 figure until the General Assembly finalizes details.

Why it matters: CEP expansion can increase access to meals and reduce administrative burden, but its fiscal impact depends on federal reimbursement rates and pending state action. The committee asked staff to provide a lunch-only cost estimate if the state only funds breakfast.

Next steps: staff will return with more detailed breakdowns for breakfasts and lunches and will update the board when legislative details about state breakfast funding are clarified.