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Fayette schools had floated the idea of increasing meal prices, but the proposal may no longer be on the table

FILE - Seventh graders sit together in the cafeteria during their lunch break at a public school, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)
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AP
FILE - Seventh graders sit together in the cafeteria during their lunch break at a public school, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

A number of Fayette County schools which offer free meals under a federal program may not be able to do so — due to decreases in poverty and the end of a four-year-reimbursement cycle. Other changes have also been proposed, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader, but they may not be implemented in the coming school year.

In addition to dealing with the potential for some schools to no longer offer free meals through what's called the Community Eligibility Provision, the school system has been mulling an increase in prices for students and adults who do pay for meals.

District chief operating officer Myron Thompson explained at a February budget meeting.

"We know that we're not going to be able to offset all the charges, but at some point, we do have to look at increasing rates for those who can't pay," he said.

The initial proposal would have raised prices by 50 cents per meal across the board.

But district spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith told WUKY that items discussed during that workshop are not guaranteed to appear in the final budget recommendations. She said, based on feedback from board members following the workshop, administration is "no longer recommending an increase in meal prices for the 2025-26 school year."

At the meeting, Fayette Superintendent Demetrius Liggins clarified that no student who cannot pay is ever denied a meal.

"When families don't pay, we continue to give that full meal to the child," he said. "And when that bill is not ultimately paid, that cost too goes into the general budget."

As of January 31, families owed around $35,000 in unpaid meal bills, which the school system takes on.

The Herald-Leader says any vote on the issue could come up in May.