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Committee flags risk to meal programs and federal grants as possible federal delays loom
Summary
Committee members and staff raised concerns that potential federal delays to meal reimbursements (CACFP) and cuts to grants such as Title I and SIA could affect meal service and staffing; staff will return with school‑level participation and updated projections.
A staff member and board members told the Lebanon Community SD 9 budget committee that potential federal funding delays or cuts could jeopardize meal reimbursements and some grant‑funded positions.
At the meeting, a staff member warned, "That's potentially the bigger problem... CACFP nutrition might be more of an issue than Title I" if federal flows or administrative changes delay reimbursement. Committee members and Steven Persosky, director of financial services, discussed the risk and noted the district has cash resources and could establish a supplemental reserve if payments were delayed.
Board members and staff discussed grant sizes and exposure: a board member reported Title I funding is "a little over $1,000,000," and IDEA funding is around $1,000,000; Persosky also said the SIA allocation came in slightly flat (about $12,000 less than the current year). Members emphasized that meal counts and poverty-related measures drive Title I and SIA allocations.
The committee also heard an external report referenced by a participant that a local Head Start program had temporarily closed for at least a month because federal funds were frozen; the claim was presented as something a participant had heard and was not verified during the meeting.
Members asked staff to return with school‑by‑school meal participation rates and for the district nutrition director to provide updated cost and participation estimates. Persosky said the nutrition director is actively working on those numbers and staff will bring them back to the committee for further discussion.
(Clarification: CACFP refers to the federal Child and Adult Care Food Program, a federal reimbursement program for meals. In discussion some participants used CACFP and the broader school meal conversation interchangeably.)
