Board hears April settlement, ongoing food‑service shortfalls and CEP analysis

The Cuyahoga Falls City School District Board of Education received its monthly financial update at the April 22 meeting, where the district reported a large April settlement and continued pressure in school-meal finances.

Treasurer Ms. Stoikoi reported the district posted a positive month‑end balance after the April settlement and noted the district received about $6,000,000 in April, which will increase available funds heading into slower revenue months in May and June. She said food‑service operations remain ‘‘running in the negative’’ and that higher food and insurance costs are stressing the program's finances. ‘‘We’re still running in the negative,’’ Ms. Stoikoi said, adding staff track reimbursements and expenditures closely and hope to approach break‑even by year‑end.

Board members and staff discussed the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) for school meals. Ms. Stoikoi said a cost‑benefit review using standard participation assumptions showed CEP would not be beneficial for the district under current calculations because only directly certified students count toward CEP eligibility. She said staff will pull participation numbers from the pandemic years and run additional scenarios to test whether different participation assumptions would change the outcome.

Board members also flagged the district’s reduced cash reserves compared with prior years and asked for a post‑school‑year report showing the revenue impact from the board’s earlier meal‑price increases. ‘‘Could we get some information in June on how much that raised?’’ one board member asked. The board approved the financial reports by roll call later in the meeting.

Next steps: staff will provide CEP scenario runs using pandemic-era participation, a full year assessment of the meal‑price change, and updated projections for food‑service operations as the fiscal year closes.