County milk prices up this school year

By NATE HUBBARD/Staff

The effect of skyrocketing milk prices will be felt in Wythe County school cafeterias during the upcoming school year.
At its meeting Thursday morning, the Wythe County School Board voted to raise the price of school breakfasts, lunches and milk by 10 cents each.
Reduced price rates are not affected by the increase.
“These are the kinds of things, even though it’s only a dime, that a citizen is going to take notice of,” said School Board member Alan Wilder after asking for further discussion of the issue before a vote was taken.
Wesley Poole, supervisor of federal programs and middle school education, presented the updated pricing scale to the School Board.
In his July 16 memo to Superintendent Albert Armentrout recommending the increases, Poole wrote that the price of milk has gone up 30 percent since last year, equivalent to 7 cents per unit.
“If we don’t increase to keep up with the milk prices, our cafeterias are going to be on a slippery slope,” Poole said. “The price increases have been quite dramatic in the recent months.”
At the School Board meeting, Poole reported that the price already has risen another penny in the last month for an overall raise of 8 cents per unit since last August.
Armentrout said the school system is predicting the price will continue to go up, and it is trying to incorporate those increases now with the 10-cent hike. He cautioned, however, that another increase in the near future still is likely.
A student purchasing breakfast, lunch and one container of milk each day will spend an extra $1.50 per typical 5-day school week compared to last year’s prices. That same student across the entire school year will pay about $50 more than he would have during the 2006-07 session.
“We know of the burden it places on families,” Armentrout emphasized.
Although he didn’t trivialize the increase, Armentrout pointed out that the school district did go five years recently without increasing prices. He said even with the increased rates, the cost for food at Wythe County schools is still lower than most surrounding school systems.
“A lot of the school divisions passed us big,” Armentrout said, referring to the five years in which prices remained unchanged.
After about 15 minutes of discussion, the School Board approved the price increase.
Wythe County school cafeterias offer four varieties of milk – unflavored skim, unflavored 2 percent, chocolate 1 percent and strawberry 1 percent. Each option will now cost 40 cents.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the School Board briefly discussed possible plans to implement if high temperatures continue during the first few days of school. Students are scheduled to report to school on Aug. 22.
“It is typical that we would have early dismissals on extremely hot days,” Armentrout said. “Certainly we have to consider heat and also the fact that we need to keep our students hydrated.”
School Board Vice Chairman Chalmer Frye suggested starting the school day an hour earlier, at 8 a.m., on warm days. Armentrout said the district would look in to the possibility, but no decision was made on the issue.
The next meeting of the School Board will be at Speedwell Elementary School on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. The School Board is meeting on Thursdays this school year – a change from the usual Wednesday meetings of past years.
Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or .