Legislative Posturing Impacting Local Schools

Food has become a hot topic in school districts such as Saline, Dexter, Chelsea and Milan. With the second full month of the school year now underway, Michigan legislators still have not formulated a budget, which was supposed to be in place before the end of summer. This leaves questions, one being whether or not universal free meals will continue and other questions being, how public schools will pay for things if a budget isn’t put in place soon.

On Oct. 1, Dexter Community Schools (DCS) sent out a message regarding lunches and breakfast that relayed details impacting all public schools in Michigan.

DCS said, “Because the state budget is still uncertain, we don’t yet have answers about whether universal free meals will continue or not. The State has passed a short-term budget bill (HB 4161 S.1) which continues current spending through October 7th. This includes universal free meals for students.”

Just a week earlier DCS Superintendent Chris Timmis sent out a message to community families titled “Free breakfast/lunch likely ending September 30 because of Legislative Posturing.”

At their Sept. 30 school board meeting, Saline Area Schools started to look ahead to confronting a new environment inside the cafeteria.

In a communication to the Saline school board, Larry D’Andrea, Saline’s Director of Food Service, recommended increasing some meal prices.

D’Andrea said:

“As you know, Michigan has been participating in the universal free school meals program, which has provided breakfast and lunch at no cost to all students. If this program ceases, the District will need to return to charging students for meals.

Our current meal prices have remained unchanged for several years. During that time, costs related to food, labor, and supplies have increased significantly. To continue operating the Food Service Program in compliance with state and federal requirements, while maintaining financial sustainability, we would be recommending adjustments to our meal prices.

These recommended increases are consistent with federal guidelines and aligned with comparable districts in our region. They are necessary to cover rising operating costs, ensure high-quality meals for students, and maintain compliance with USDA requirements.”

The proposed increases include Elementary Lunch going from $2.75 to $3.50 and Middle School Lunch going from $3.25 to $4.50.

At the Sept. 24 Milan Area Schools board meeting, Milan Superintendent Ryan McMahon again emphasized the need for legislators to form a budget. He said it’s not just lunches being impacted, but various areas that help keep schools open and operating. He said there was some talk a state budget agreement could come around Oct. 10, but at that point he called that speculation. He said the games legislators are playing with the budget are not fair to students and families.

 McMahon sent out a message last month that addressed this. He said state law mandates that lawmakers approve a K-12 school funding budget by July 1 each year so districts like Milan can plan and operate with certainty. That deadline has passed, and no agreement has been reached.

“Without a budget, there’s a risk of a state government shutdown on September 30, which could delay funding that schools depend on to operate,” McMahon said.