Lunch cost to increase a nickel

SALISBURY — The Board of Education voted to raise the price of a lunch — by a nickel — at Salisbury Central School for the 2011-12 school year. The decision was made at the board’s regular monthly meeting Monday, May 23.Board Clerk Sue Bucceri said a federal mandate requires the school to raise the price of lunch to $2.46; however, the school is not required to implement the increase all at once. The current price is $2.25 per lunch. The school serves about 21,000 lunches in a school year.The board voted unanimously to raise the price to $2.30 for next year.The board also decided to try out the state Healthy Food Certification program. Schools that opt to implement the program receive an additional 10 cents per lunch, based on the total number of reimbursable lunches (paid, free and reduced) served in the school in the prior academic year.In recent years the board has not participated, but Bucceri and board member Jennifer Weigel said they thought it was worth a try.Chairman Roger Rawlings noted that the lunches already meet the nutritional standards, and because the school doesn’t have a store or vending machines, Bucceri said the paperwork required for the program would be manageable.The board approved a calendar for the 2011-12 year, and board member Amy Lake said it was time to start serious discussion of extending the school year.“We keep adding to the curriculum,” she pointed out.“I’m all in favor of it,” said Rawlings. “We did it for the school day.” (SCS added 20 minutes of instruction time per day for the current school year.)Principal Chris Butwill had some news about next year’s enrollment. He said the incoming kindergarten class is larger than expected, at 38 students, and thus far total enrollment at the school is up five students.Region One School District Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain said that Salisbury Central has made “adequate yearly progress” in satisfying the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind law.In fact, she added, the school has surpassed the requirements by a significant margin. “You are doing an excellent job.”• There will be an early dismissal Thursday, June 16, to allow teachers extra time to get their rooms squared away prior to construction that begins the following Monday.• Longtime custodian Mike Wells will be retiring at the end of the school year.• Salisbury Central will be looking for a long-term substitute for fifth-grade teacher Barbara Carr, who has asked for maternity and parenting leave.