SCUSD Could Increase Lunch Prices, Stop Charging for Reduced-Price Lunches

Students in Rosemont could soon be paying more for lunch, but district officials are quick to point out they'll still pay less than kids in other nearby school districts.

The Sacramento City Unified School District this week will consider raising the price of lunches by a quarter. The district raised its lunch prices by a quarter twice last year, and currently charges $1.75 for elementary students, and $2.25 for middle and high schoolers.

"Even with the potential increase, our lunches will still be the cheapest of any district in the area," spokesman Gabe Ross said in an email. "Also, the new plan would provide free lunch for more students at our schools."

This proposed increase is because of a federal law requiring districts charging "less than the difference between the federal reimbursements for free and paid lunch" ($2.51) to raise their prices or cover the difference with other, non-federal money, a staff report states.

The district doesn't have the money to cover the difference, so it will have to raise prices, according to a staff report.

Here's what other districts in the area charge:

Reduced-price lunches could become free lunches

The district is also proposing to stop charging for reduced-price meals, which currently cost 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch, but must be served to anyone who qualifies, whether or not they have the cash.

"It costs more to try and collect the reduced price charges and creates a negative stigma to the needy meal students for whom we are trying to encourage, rather that discourage meal participation," the district says in a staff report. It continues:

"A neighboring district experiencing budget cuts re-imposed reduced price charges after years of not charging students for reduced price meals. They found that after a year’s trial that fewer students were eating breakfast and lunch and that total revenues decreased. The following year, the reduced price charges were eliminated and they had a noticeable increase in participation and total revenue increased."

--

Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education meeting
6:30 p.m. Thursday
5735 47th Avenue

--
Sign up for the free Rosemont Patch newsletter | Like Rosemont Patch on Facebook | Follow @RosemontPatch on Twitter | Blog for Rosemont Patch