As of last Monday, the federal free lunch program has been reinstated for the Manitowoc Public School District.
Superintendent Jim Feil says the program will cost about $330,000, but it’s not coming from the district’s general fund and can only cover food service costs.
The district has about $1 million in reserves of largely dedicated federal food service to cover the expenses.
“Right now based on the project usage, we would have two or three years to be able to continue this program,” Feil explained. “Then we would have to revisit. Should we go back to just those in need or does this compete with other priorities like reading in terms of what we should be doing.”
He also says the cost for the district can come down if more people participate in the program.
Earlier this year, Feil decided to opt out of the program because there is a cost to the program, even though the program provides free breakfast and lunch.
But because of pushback from parents, he decided it would be best to get back in.
