Sturgeon Bay board: fund balance forces reconsideration of universal free breakfast

District staff reported at the July 17 Sturgeon Bay School Board meeting that the food‑service fund balance has declined substantially and recommended against continuing universal free breakfast without outside funding.

Jake, presenting the business and operations report, said the food‑service account (Fund 50) began recent years with about $200,000 and that the balance is now about $38,000 after several years of drawdowns. He and food‑service director Jenny told the board that federal reimbursements continue for students who qualify for free or reduced meals and that those students will continue to receive meals. "If someone is on free and reduced lunch and they have a need for breakfast, we're gonna — we're going to get them breakfast," Jake said, emphasizing the district's safety‑net commitments.

Administrators said the district briefly considered a universal free‑breakfast model piloted during the COVID period but that the diminished fund balance and ongoing food costs make a permanent universal program fiscally risky at present. The presenter estimated the incremental annual cost to expand universal free breakfast beyond currently eligible students might be in the tens of thousands (a rough illustrative range was discussed, not an exact budgeted figure), and said staff will continue to examine options, outside fundraising and targeted pilots.

Board members asked for further financial detail and possible program models; staff committed to return more precise cost estimates and potential funding scenarios at a future meeting. The board did not take a policy vote; administrators said they will monitor the fund and report back.