Fayette school board nixed raising meal prices last year. Will members change their minds?
A proposed school meal price increase for the 2026-2027 school year is on the agenda for Thursday’s Fayette County Board of Education meeting.
Previous proposals had been controversial. School board members nixed a similar proposal last year.
A document on Thursday’s agenda says under the proposal, breakfast for all students would increase 50 cents from $2 to $2.50. Lunch for students in Pre-K through fifth grade would increase 75 cents from $2.75 to 3.50. Lunch for students from sixth to 12th grade would increase 75 cents from $3 to $3.75.
The proposed price increase comes after recent losses in the district’s Child Nutrition account, according to a document detailing the proposed changes on the school board’s agenda. Current meal prices aren’t covering the cost of production for food, labor and supplies.
“The district loses money on every paid meal served, leaving federal reimbursements for free meals to carry the program’s losses,” the agenda item says.
School program regulations require school food authorities participating in the National School Lunch Program to ensure sufficient funds are provided to the nonprofit school food service account for meals served to students not eligible for free or reduced-price meals, the agenda document says.
According to the Kentucky Department of Education, there was a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of June 30, 2025, the Fayette County Board of Education agenda says.
School districts can meet the funding requirement through the prices charged for “paid” meals, or through other non-federal sources such as district funds provided to the nonprofit school food service account.
While there have been significant increases in food, labor and supply expenses in recent years, student meal prices have not increased since 2022-2023, according to the agenda document.
The school board will discuss the price increase Thursday in its 5:30 p.m. meeting at the FCPS Central Office.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 3:50 PM.