The Mahomet-Seymour School Board voted 4-3 to reject a proposal to raise prices on school lunches in the 2022-23 school year Tuesday night. Meghan Hennesy, Justin Lamb, Ken Keefe and Colleen Schultz voted against the proposal.
The fee increase was proposed after Arbor Management Inc. passed tcosts onto the Mahomet-Seymour School District. With the vote, the district will absorb the cost instead of passing it onto the consumer.
The measure would have raised breakfast and lunch prices by $.10 for K-12 students. For the most part, Ala Carte item prices would have remained the same, but milk, bottled water and juice would have increased $.10 while Lipton Ice Tea, Gatorade and flavored water would increase by $.25.
Although the price increase was voted down, the board may revisit what impact the district will carry in absorbing the fee increase by Arbor.
Throughout the pandemic the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered waivers that allowed school districts across the country to provide free meals to all school kids and gave districts a higher reimbursement rate for those meals. This program is set to expire on June 30.
