“Inflation is real.” That was one of Newcastle School Board President Tiffany Elcyzyn’s concerns as she spoke about an increase in breakfast and lunch prices at Newcastle Public Schools.
Elcyzyn said because of the increases seen from food service suppliers, the Board of Education had to increase prices for the upcoming school year. She added that the school had unpaid lunch debt remaining from last year, and the school has a need for more parents to fill out the government’s free and reduced lunch application, regardless of if they will qualify or not.
Dr. Cathy Walker, NPS superintendent, echoed those comments, saying, “We need families to fill out that form. A lot of times families don’t think they qualify and they end up being able to.”
Either way, Elcyzyn said the government program gives more weight to schools where more percentage of parents fill out the free and reduced lunch form. She said the action shows participation by the community.
Prices for the 2024-25 school year will be about a quarter more than the prices during the 2023-24 school year.
2023-24 Prices Student Breakfast price $1.65 Student Lunch price elementary $2.85 Student Lunch price secondary school sites $3.10
2024-25 Prices Student Breakfast price $1.75 Student Lunch price elementary $3.10 Student Lunch price secondary school sites $3.35
The increase has placed Newcastle Schools in line with other area schools of about the same size and community makeup. Elcyzyn said NPS can’t compare to some of the larger schools nearby because of the amount of free and reduced meals they receive.
Newcastle Schools had approximately $6,000 in unpaid lunch debt last year. This was even after a donation from the Cummings family to pay for some of those debts, Elcyzyn said.
