Cost of lunch may be going up in public schools
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.c

It looks as if school breakfast and lunch prices are on the rise again in Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD).

Thanks to the increasing costs of food and supplies as well as the rising cost of employee salaries and benefits, the district is considering a 25-cent increase in the price of breakfast and a 50-cent increase in the price of lunch at both the elementary and secondary grade levels-a matter that has come before CVUSD's board of education.

Those increases would make the cost of breakfast $1.75 in elementary schools and $2 in middle and high schools. The costs would be $2.75 and $3.50 for lunch.

According to Joe Cook, the district's head of child nutrition, the price hike is necessary if the district hopes to keep up with the bills it's receiving from vendors, all of whom have been hit hard by the high cost of gasoline.

"Our distributors and vendors are unfortunately spending more to transport their goods into our district . . . and they're passing that added expense along to us," Cook said. "We're passing that cost along to our consumers."

While some of the district's vendors are located in the Conejo Valley, Cook said, some come from as far away as Anaheim and City of Commerce, more than an hour's drive.

Last year, breakfast and lunch prices went up 25 cents in the district. Cook said the child nutrition department is determined to balance its budget and increase its reserves after four consecutive years of running on a deficit.

"We want to keep that budget balanced," he said. "And this is part of making that happen."

Cook added that even with the cost increase the district's price schedule remains consistent with prices in Oak Park and Las Virgenes school districts.

The board of education is expected to vote on the price hike at their June 27 meeting.

Child nutrition will continue to support a 10 percent discount for elementary and secondary students when meals are pre-paid one month in advance.