Students enrolled in the district’s full-price lunch program can expect to pay a little extra for a hot meal when school resumes in September.

The Dowagiac Union Schools Board of Education recently approved a 10-cent hike to the cost of full-price school lunches provided inside its elementary, middle and high school facilities. The dime increase brings the rates of K-5 lunches up to $2.55 a meal and its 6-12 meals up to $2.65.

The increase is the second approved this year by the school board, with the members voting to increase the price by 10 cents back in February.

The decision again follows the recommendations laid out by the state department of education, after its audit of the district’s Paid Lunch Equity rate. The increase will help the district offset the costs incurred to the state for free and reduced lunch programs.

The reason for the price increases is due in part to the higher costs of food items, said Union Schools Superintendent Paul Hartsig.

“It’s pretty typical across the state,” Hartsig said. “As the price of commodities increases, so does the amount that the state requires from districts for reimbursement. You’ll see this happen everywhere, except in districts that are already charging a high price
for lunches.”

With more than 70 percent of the district’s students enrolled in the free or reduced price lunch programs, only around 30 percent of the students will be affected by the rate increase.

“We always hate to ask more of our parents,” Hartsig said. “Anytime we have to increase prices for anything, we make sure it’s for the right reasons and is a legitimate expense. In this case, it can’t be avoided, because it’s required by the state.”

In addition to the 10-cent increase for students, the board voted to increase the price that teachers and staff pay for hot lunch by 20 cents, bringing it to $3.45 per meal.

“If we’re requiring more from the parents of our students, it would only be fair to keep those prices in line as well,” Hartsig said.