Dear Racer Families,
There has been a lot of conversation recently around school funding and student meals and I want to take a moment to share some important updates with you. Tuesday night, I presented this information to the school board, and I believe it’s just as important that you are informed as well.
Each year, we receive funding from the U.S. Department of Education to support our Title Programs. These funds allow us to provide essential services for our students, including reading and math specialists, support for English Language Learners, professional development for our teachers, curriculum materials, instructional coach and behavior assistance.
For the 2024–2025 school year, we were allocated $399,408.00 in federal funding to support these programs. However, we are now anticipating a loss of $79,734.00 in these funds for the upcoming school year. Please know that our district is actively exploring every option to preserve as many of these services as possible.
Additionally, the State Department of Education has announced that beginning with the 2025–2026 school year, all districts will be required to provide free lunches to all students. While this goal is one we support in spirit, the cost to our district would be over $2 million dollars to provide both breakfast and lunch to every student. Currently, we receive partial reimbursement for meals, but there is no guarantee that funding would continue if we offered meals at no cost to all students.
Currently, we do not qualify as a district for full reimbursement through the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), a federal program that allows some schools to offer free meals to all students. This is why it is absolutely critical that all families complete the Free and Reduced-Price Meals application even if you believe you may not qualify. Parents may complete an application in their Infinite Campus parent portal or by completing the printable application on the Child Nutrition tab on the district webpage.
Like you, I want every student to have access to the meals and services they need to thrive. At this time, however, we simply do not have the financial capacity to provide free meals to all students without additional support.
I welcome your questions, ideas, and concerns. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.
Racer Proud,
Dr. Cathy Walker
