RISON - The Cleveland County School Board voted to increase school breakfast and lunch prices by 50 cents while Superintendent Craig Dupuy gave the board an update on some of the new laws that are part of the state's new LEARNS education plan.
Meanwhile, Dupuy also said that due to lower enrollment for the upcoming year, fifth and sixth graders should be able to return to the high school or elementary buildings.
It was the final regular monthly school board meeting for Dupuy, who will begin a new job as assistant superintendent for the Benton School District on July 1. Incoming superintendent Jerrod Williams was also at Monday night's meeting as well as some of the previous monthly meetings.
Under the new price plan for school meals, the student breakfast price will be $2 while the student lunch price will be $3. Those respective prices were previously $1.50 and $2.50. The cost for an adult/guest breakfast has increased to $3 while the adult/guest lunch price will be $5.
Dupuy said he visited with Josetta Beard, the district's food service director, about meal pricing and they both agreed that an increase was warranted to keep up with inflation. "If we don't increase the prices, we run the danger of finishing with a negative balance in food service (budget) for next year," Dupuy told the board.
It was also noted that an effort will be made to encourage eligible families to fill out the applications for free and reduced lunches.
There was no opposition among the six the board members to the price increase.
During the discussion, Dupuy said the school district finished the current school year with a balance of about $5,700 in the food service budget. Beard noted, however, that the district benefited from some extra funding due to supply chain issues that helped bolster the budget. That money will not be there next year.
There was some discussion about unpaid lunch fees as well. Beard re...
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