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Nutrition director warns Pulaski County CEP reimbursement will fall sharply; staff outline operational changes
Summary
Nutrition staff told the board that Pulaski County’s identified percentage for the USDA Community Eligibility Provision fell, lowering projected full-free reimbursement from about 92.54% to 71.44%, and that continuing CEP will require staffing and operational changes; provisional CEP and the burdens of returning to application-based meals were discussed.
Pulaski County School nutrition staff briefed the board on May 12 about the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), the USDA program that allows districts with sufficient categorical eligibility to serve meals to all students at no charge.
The presenter explained that Pulaski’s identified student percentage used in the USDA formula has declined since the 2022–23 school year. Using the USDA multiplier, staff said the district’s proportion of meals reimbursed at the full free rate would drop from about 92.54% to roughly 71.44%. The presenter said staff had calculated that, given current projections, state revenues would finish approximately $2,000,000 below original budget projections (an enrollment-driven decline), and that CEP would remain possible but would require operational, staffing and monitoring changes to remain financially viable.
Board members asked how long CEP could be sustained under those assumptions; the presenter said with planned operational adjustments, CEP could likely be solid for about three years but stressed the estimate depends on reimbursement changes and broader economic conditions. The presenter reviewed an alternative, provisional CEP approach — collecting meal applications for a year while feeding students at no cost — and said that approach is labor‑intensive and could leave the district worse off if collection levels do not increase.
Discussion covered the reimbursement math (the presenter described using the identified percentage multiplied by 1.6 to compute free-rate reimbursement), differences among after‑school snack/supper programs, and examples of operational cost pressures (the presenter cited adult meal cost at $4.85). Board members pressed staff to keep the community informed about potential tradeoffs, including the administrative burden and stigma that can return under a free/reduced application system.
The board did not take a final vote on CEP at the meeting but asked staff for follow-up information and expressed support for efforts to preserve free meals for students where feasible.
