Forest Hills increases lunch prices

Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2007 11:26 am

Junior will be needing an extra quarter for his lunch money this fall. grill

Here is the text of an article from the Forest Hills Journal

Forest Hills raises lunch fees
BY FORREST SELLERS

ANDERSON TWP. - The Forest Hills School District will increase its lunch fees this fall. It will be the first increase in almost a decade.

Lunches fees for elementary students will increase from $1.50 to $1.75. Lunches for students in the secondary grades will increase from $1.75 to $2.

The cost of adult lunches will be raised an additional 40 cents.

"It's been run at a break-even level the last few years," said Tia Straus, food service supervisor for the Forest Hills Schools.

Straus said a number of factors have led to an increase in operating costs including a rise in paper and labor costs as well as rising gasoline prices.

For years Forest Hills Schools has been among the lowest in lunch fees.

"We compared the prices of some of the other districts," Straus said. "We were the fourth lowest in comparable districts of our size (in southwest Ohio)."

Ray Johnson, director of business operations for Forest Hills Schools, said lunch operations are self-sufficient and do not rely on tax revenue for operation.

"What has driven this (increase) is we are reinvesting more and more of the money back into the kitchens," he said.

He said the higher fees are also an effort to be proactive.

Johnson said some of the original equipment and freezers are fairly old.

"We are trying to anticipate the useful life of the equipment rather than take a chance it might go down during the school year," he said.

The total food operating costs for the 2005-2006 school year was $1.7 million.

Fine Citizen Joined: Jun 03, 2007 Posts: 69

Anyone remember the lunchlady at Turpin High who only had one eye? It sure was a treat to have her put something on your tray.
ejsbroc