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Cadott board weighs meal‑price increases as food‑service fund runs a shortfall
Summary
Board members heard that Food Service is operating in the red due to lower federal/state aid; staff proposed modest price increases and other operational changes while estimating a remaining shortfall that will require further analysis.
Josh Spaeth, Presenter, told the board Food Service is operating at a deficit driven largely by a drop in state and federal funding and urged a near‑term review of meal pricing and participation data.
"We are going in the red in Food Service," Spaeth said, explaining the district has been using fund 10 balances to cover meals and that modest price increases would not close the full shortfall.
He said roughly 70% of students take school lunch and that the district has not raised some items (milk) in years; staff proposed small increases (10 cents on milk and modest rises for other categories) to move the district closer to the state average for similarly sized schools. Spaeth said staff estimates for the unresolved shortfall varied in the discussion: figures mentioned in the meeting ranged from about $30,000 to as much as $100,000, with a working expectation in the discussion that the likely impact of proposals could be roughly $60,000–$70,000, but he emphasized more precise accounting would follow a deeper review.
Spaeth and board members discussed additional steps, such as analyzing what is sold at each site, ensuring federal reimbursement lines are entered correctly, evaluating breakfast participation initiatives that produced roughly a $13,000 annual increase previously, and exploring optional extra‑entree offerings for older students.
The board moved and approved new meal prices for the 2026–27 school year by voice vote. Spaeth said staff will continue to investigate sales mix and reimbursement timing and return with updated projections.
