Fayette County Schools to increase school meal prices under state instruction

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Fayette County Schools students will soon see an increase in breakfast and lunch prices following a mandate from the Kentucky Department of Education.

Michelle Coker, the district’s child nutrition director, proposed raising breakfast prices by $0.50 and lunch prices by $0.75, effective next year, during Thursday’s school board meeting.

“Our mission is feed the kids,” Coker said. “Everything else will fall into place.”

District representatives wanted to keep prices the same, but the state education department stepped in.

“We have been identified this year from KDE that we cannot waive our prices and stay at the same rate. We must raise those,” Coker said.

The price hike will affect 8,964 students, roughly 22% of the district. Nearly 80% of students receiving meal assistance will not be affected by the change.

“We’re not using the paid student funds to pay for free meals,” Coker said.

Coker, who has worked for the district for 20 years, noted the increases are necessary to keep the program financially sustainable.

“We’re not here to make money like restaurants. We are the largest restaurant in Lexington, if you think about it,” Coker said.

The school board will vote on the proposed increases at its next meeting on April 27.