Lunch prices raised for Sweet Springs 2009-2010 school year

Although Superintendent Boyd Jones said he "never expected" the school's meal program to be a "break-even kind of thing," he recommended the board make certain adjustments to help in some way with the program currently operating at about $60,000 over budget. Much of this, he said, is due to increased food costs.

Jones recommended the board raise the prices of breakfast and lunch by 10 cents each, which he said would raise $4,200 yearly. This is not enough to do much, he said, but if the situation is as bad during the 2009-2010 school year, the board can revisit the issue.

He also recommended that fifth- and sixth-graders no longer be charged as elementary students for meals. For at least 10 years, Jones estimated, students in these grades have eaten the same food as high-schoolers, yet have been charged 15 cents less for breakfast and 20 cents less for lunch than students in high school.

Board secretary Cindi Sims asked if there was much waste seen during mealtimes. Jones replied that there is, and much of it is due to requirements placed on the school, such as the inability to allow a student to only take one item from a salad bar, from which fifth- and sixth-graders often take their meals. Even if the student announces in advance he or she will only eat one item from the salad bar, school employees are required to give each student a balanced meal.

The board voted to make the changes recommended by Jones. This means fifth- and sixth-graders will be charged a total of 25 cents more for breakfast and 30 cents for lunch than students in those grades have been in previous years.

The last time meal prices were raised, Jones said, was three years ago, when prices were raised 10 cents per meal. Last year, he added, the price of milk was raised, but he said the district is still selling milk at a loss.

The board approved the budget for the 2009-2010 year during its meeting Wednesday.

This budget ends with the school district operating approximately $55,000 over budget, but Jones said this is presuming that things will go "universally negatively," which he does not expect will happen.

The board voted to remain involved with the West Central Special Education Cooperative, which will provide the district with, for example, a part-time speech teacher, if the district's number of speech students surpasses the number the instructor can teach.

The district has been involved with WCSEC since its first year of operation. In that five-year period, membership has cost the district $1,600, said Jones.

The board voted to approve a list of five destinations for the senior trip in the 2009-2010 year. The only cities on the list to which seniors have not previously traveled, board members said, are Boston and Los Angeles.

The board went into closed session to discuss personnel issues.

Besides Sims, other board members present were President Robert Fuehring, Vice President Rodney Heaper, Treasurer Doug Vogelsmeier, Brian Vogelsmeier, Darla Reid and Troy Schroeder.

The board's next regularly scheduled meeting will be held at 8:15 p.m. Monday, July 20, in the elementary school.

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net