Mahomet-Seymour raises meal prices, approves contract with Arbor Management

The Mahomet-Seymour School board voted unanimously Monday night to change aspects of how meals are provided to students.

Per Illinois Code, the school district was required to competitively bid and award the food service management contract to the lowest bidder.

Arbor Management was identified as the lowest responsible bidder at $780,177.10. The contract will run for five years.

Per the Healthy and Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, the district was also required to do an annual review of meal prices using the Lunch Price Equity Tool.

According to the district, each year they have used the tool, it has recommended that the district increase its meal prices or absorb the cost.

M-S Chief School Business Official Trent Nuxoll said that since 2013, the district has chosen to absorb the cost which has accumulated to $101,371.

Nuxoll said the district was aware of the deficit and that the district’s meal prices were below the regional average in 2018, but that the district decided to take on another $13,000 loss in the 2018-2019 school year.

 

In the spring of 2018, the district increased registration fees for the upcoming school year.

“We didn’t feel it was right to increase registration fees and lunch prices the same year, so we held out and absorbed the loss at $13,000. It’s now to the point where we at least get close to the average regionally.”

Under Arbor Management’s 2019-2020 meal price, the district will run a $43,767.04 surplus the first year, but Nuxoll says that may or may not last long.

Arbor has the option to increase meal prices under its contract, which Nuxoll said may be expected as they, too, will be required to raise its minimum wage to $15/hour over the next five years.

While the district will continue to do an annual review of meal prices, the 2019-20 breakfast prices will increase by $.15 in all grades. Lunch prices will increase by $.35 in grades K-5 and $.30 in grades 6-12.

 

 

	Student Breakfast	Student Lunch	Adult Breakfast	Adult Lunch
K-5	$1.65	$2.20	$2.25	$3.25
6-8	$1.75	$2.40	$2.25	$3.25
9-12	$1.75	$2.40	$2.25	$3.25