Free breakfast, lunch now offered at HRCSD sites

In the past, the U.S. Department of Agriculture program provided free breakfast and lunch to schools with at least 40% of the student body receiving income-based federal assistance. That threshold recently dropped to 25%.

Until the change, only Cascade Locks, Mid Valley and Parkdale elementary schools and Wy’east Middle School were eligible to participate in the program. As of Jan. 2, Westside and May Street elementary schools, Hood River Middle and Hood River Valley High School also qualify.

“This expansion means that almost all of our students of Hood River County School District are eligible to receive one healthy breakfast and one healthy lunch at school at no charge to their household,” Newton said. Hood River Options Academy is the one HRCSD site not eligible for the program, though some students may travel to their neighborhood school to receive the free meals as per the Oregon Department of Education.

However, since the beginning of the school year, the district has been using general fund dollars to provide free breakfast and lunch to HROA students who qualify for free or reduced meals, he said, and that will not change.

Newton — and, later, board members — thanked HRCSD Nutrition Services Director Jordan Haas for applying for the program in December so students would be able to receive the benefits beginning in January instead of during the summer months.

Newton also touched on the annual budget development process now underway. “Over the past two months, Nancy Hall, our interim chief financial officer, and I have been sharing with the Finance Advisory Committee that our current budget includes staffing expenditures higher than anticipated,” he said.

The district increased staffing levels in response to student need during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with state and ESSER funds (Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief) providing increased counseling support with a focus on mental health, smaller class sizes, supporting incoming kindergarten students and their families, and implementing COVID-19 mitigation efforts — to name a few items. But ESSER funds are waning, and the district must now refine its budget to reflect current revenue streams.

“Last spring, our school district attempted to adjust the budget through staff attrition,” he said. “In addition, our school district’s annual budget included using $2 million from our biennial reserve fund as revenue … Using our reserve fund is not sustainable over the long term.”

The biennial reserve fund was established before the pandemic to provide a contingency fund for both expected and unexpected costs, he added.

On a local level, the district will meet with staff and community members for input and ideas.

“Our school district is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of fiscal responsibility and transparency, ensuring that every dollar of public funds is managed with diligence and integrity,” Newton said.

“Through prudent financial stewardship, we prioritize investments in education, infrastructure and resources that directly benefit our students, teachers and the entire school community … Our school district is in a similar position to school districts throughout Oregon. We hope that during the 2025 state legislative session, there will be an emphasis on education funding, given Gov. [Kate] Kotek’s recent statements on the need to revamp Oregon’s educational funding model,” he said. “We can all play an active role over the next year with advocacy efforts for improved Oregon state funding of education.”