BEVERLY- Changes for the upcoming school year were discussed at Thursday’s Fort Frye Local Board of Education meeting, including an increase in lunch prices in accordance with state regulations.

Under the change, lunch prices across the district will be 30 cents higher, making adult lunches $4.30, high school lunches $3, and elementary and middle school lunches $2.75.

Treasurer Kaitlin Huck explained during the meeting that U.S. school districts use the Paid Lunch Equity Tool every year to calculate lunch prices based on how many lunches sold are fully paid and what price the district charges based on their fund balance. The district’s lunch prices have not changed since 2012, but despite strains on the overall budget, the board was uneasy making the decision.

“Unfortunately, there’s parents that aren’t even able to pay what it is right now,” board member Johnna Zalmanek said.

The new prices were ultimately approved on a unanimous vote.

Huck said families can fill out free and reduced lunch forms. This not only helps families in the district who cannot afford meals, but the data collected can help determine the amount of federal grants the district receives.

When students input their pin codes to receive their lunches, the system will not show if the children are receiving lunch assistance, Huck said.

Another change will be a revision to a professional service agreement between Fort Frye Local School District and Hopewell Health Centers.

The agreement will now state that Hopewell’s behavioral health staff will not be available to students for summer services unless the service can be billed to insurance or Medicaid. This revision comes as a result of a lack of funds in the district and expiration of grants received in years prior.

Superintendent Stephanie Starcher said Hopewell behavioral health staff will still be available in Fort Frye schools during the school year and the district applied for the School Based Health Grant through Coplin Health Systems to pay for an architect to turn Starcher’s former office into a school-based health clinic.

“Coplin has committed. They’re going to be here every single Monday on campus that school is in session in the mobile unit, and the community can come in,” Starcher said. “And the goal is, the following year if they get the volume, then we would have the clinic here.”

Starcher said she will keep looking for more grants to apply for in the meantime.

A third change will be the implementation of an athletic trainer for $15,000 annually through a partnership with Memorial Health Systems, which will be on a contract for the 2025-26 school year. Starcher called the rate the district is getting for these services “a steal of a deal.”

Most items on the administrative and financial agenda Thursday were moved without discussion and were either small corrections made of a previous item or items that saw no change from the previous year. The Fiscal Year 2024 Audit Report, presented by Huck, and self-evaluations for the school board were also discussed.

The next Board of Education Meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28, at Fort Frye High School.

Matty Lamp can be reached at intern@newsandsentinel.com