The Brownwood ISD Board of Trustees approved an increase in school lunch and breakfast prices for the new school year at their Monday night board meeting.

The new prices will be:

Elementary breakfast increase from $1.00 to $1.25
Secondary breakfast’s increase from $1.00 to $1.25

Elementary lunches increase from $1.70 to $2.00
Secondary lunches increase from $2.00 to $2.25

These changes will have no impact on children in the “free” and “reduced” lunch programs according to Brownwood ISD Superintendent Reece Blincoe.  This will also have no impact on the campuses that already serve a universal free breakfast which includes all elementary campuses except for Woodland Heights.

“We have seen our free & reduced numbers continue to rise through the past few years because of the economy,” Blincoe said. 

The school nutrition department is in a budget shortfall from the last school year due to the rise in minimum wage last summer and multiple freezer units that needed replacement school officials said.

“I think this is a good move,” Blincoe said. “It’s one that we don’t like to make. I know some other local districts, I read recently, have also had to do this very similar thing, and I think we will see other districts follow suit. “

School officials noted that this was the first increase in meal prices in quite some time.