Thursday night, the Little Rock School Board approved raising the price for school lunches and breakfasts by a quarter. Only one board member voted against the meal rate hike. The district says the reason for the hike is the economy.
One parent says it'll hit her family hard. Deborah Smith has three children in Little Rock schools and the price increase will cost her $3.75 a week if her children buy lunches every day. She says now that prices will be higher next school year, she will pack their lunches more often because it will be cheaper.
The problem is that the average meal is costing the district more than it's charging. That is forcing the district to take money out of its general fund to pay for meals. Federal subsidies will go up now that the price of lunch is going up. Also, the federal stimulus package includes adding more families to the free and reduced lunch list.
Cabot, Clinton and the Pulaski County Special School Districts all raised the price of school lunches this year. None has plans to raise prices in the fall.
The last time the Little rock School District raised prices was in 2005-06.
