Schools Around the Country Raising Meal Prices

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

Raising meal price, raiding fund eyed

Rising food and fuel costs are forcing Jefferson County Public Schools to consider both raising the price of student meals and raiding its emergency fund for the coming school year, district officials say.

The district expects to spend up to $1 million more on fuel for next school year, on top of the $6 million it already spends to bus about 60,000 of its 98,000 students every day, said Rick Caple, the system's transportation director.

"It is going to be an issue as we look into buying fuel this fall," he said. "The prices are supposed to get higher, and the difference is going to have to come from somewhere, because we have to transport kids to and from school."

Cheryl Sturgeon, the district's director of nutrition services, said the cost of nearly everything is rising -- from milk and bread to corn and flour. And she said she has little choice other than to increase the cost of student meals, since her department is expected to pay for itself...

Similar stories from numerous other states including: Iowa, Georgia, New York, Wisconsin, California.............