It was taken into consideration that “lunch prices haven’t been raised in at least ten years,” said Board President Cheri Schuette. The only exception to price increases was milk prices, which Assistant Superintendent Kim Robinson said were “raised two years ago when milk prices were at an all-time high.”

“We really hate to do this,” said board member Gary Hansel, “but we haven’t increased prices in quite some time.”

The school board compared current meal prices to other local school districts and found that Cuba’s current prices are among the cheapest in the area. Even after increasing prices by a quarter per meal, Cuba’s prices will still only be more expensive than Bourbon, whose cafeteria is run by OPA, a school lunch company.

“Even after raising prices, adults would still eat lunch for $2. I wish I could eat for $2. It cost me $15 to eat lunch,” joked Hansel. “We need to increase our prices.”

According to last years’ figures, 177,010 lunches were sold, with 108,368 of those being either free or reduced lunches, meaning 68,642 meals were served at full price. During the 2009-2010 school year, $98,210 was generated in revenue from the cafeteria.

After raising prices by a quarter, it is estimated that the cafeteria will yield an extra $21,500 if the same amount of food trays are sold. Additional revenue generated could be used to buy better quality food and broaden the food selections being offered. Changes in the system could possibly increase the amount of breakfast and lunch trays sold.

New prices for the 2010-2011 school year are as follows: student breakfast, 75 cents; adult breakfast, $1.25; K-3 lunch, $1.25; 4-12 lunch, $1.50; and adult lunch, $2.