Ed Board Vote On School Meals Flouts Legislature
The elected Hawaii State Board of Education that voters just ousted defied state law on Thursday in a vote to protect parents from more expensive school meals.
The board voted 8-2 against raising public school meal prices. Lunch would have gone from $2.20 to $2.35 and breakfast would have gone from 95 cents to $1. The Hawaii Department of Education recommended the price increase in order to comply with , which was passed in 2009 and requires that the department charge at least one-half the cost of preparing the meals.
Board members rejected the proposal out of concern for working families hard hit by the recession and already facing higher fees for afterschool programs, summer school, and student transportation, according to a issued Friday. The last meal price hike occurred in January this year, when prices for school lunch almost doubled and breakfast almost tripled.
It’s a bold statement coming from a board that has nothing left to lose. Voters cast a vote of no confidence in the board when they passed a constitutional amendment to replace the it with one appointed by the governor. The board’s relationship with the Hawaii Legislature has been fraught with tension over the last few years, especially when it comes to the education budget.
In Thursday’s meeting, Board Chairman Garrett Toguchi called for the Legislature to repeal Act 26, and provide sufficient funding for the school food program instead of passing on steeper costs to struggling families.
The one-way bus fare increased to 75 cents from 35 cents this year, while next year, the fee for the afterschool A-Plus program will jump $25 to $80, and summer school will cost $190, up from $160, the Associated Press reported.
