School meals, tuitions rise — in specific circumstances

Families may notice higher lunch costs in school cafeterias, while other districts will pay more to send special education students to Acton classrooms.

Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations Robert Conry said during a September 10 School Committee meeting that this is the first time the out-of-district rates have increased since the tuition was set three years ago, and the first time school meal prices have increased since before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

School meals have been free for students in Massachusetts since a federal program waived fees during the pandemic. When that program ended in 2022, Massachusetts elected to extend the length of the program at the state level. 

So, school meals are free to students — but only if they don’t get seconds. 

Now, a school lunch will cost a student $4.25 if they go through the line a second time. When he looked at the new prices, Acton-Carlisle Regional School Committee Vice Chair Brian Waterson remarked that his school lunches used to cost 85 cents. 

“A select number of kids eat second lunches, and it’s not very many, and it’s mostly in high school,” Superintendent Laurie Hunter said. 

Hunter also noted that it’s good to update prices in case free school meals don’t make it into a state budget. 

“The universal free lunch, we are all still trying to trust that. If that suddenly flipped, our school lunch prices would be so out of date that we would be scrambling,” she said. 

The increase will also affect teachers who eat school lunches and don’t get free meals. 

Meal increases

Student lunch price: Rises from $3.85 to $4.25

Adult lunch price: Rises from $5.25 to $5.50

Student breakfast price: Rises from $2.85 to $3.00

Adult breakfast price: Remains unchanged at $3.25

Source: September 10 presentation to School Committee

Student tuition

Starting next year, it will cost more to send special education students from out of district to Acton. Tuition to send students through Acton Public Schools increased from $250 to $270 a day, or an increase of $3,600 annually. 

Summer tuition will remain at $3,750 per month, but administrators are allowed to prorate fees depending on the services used. The district sending the student pays these tuitions, which are partially reimbursed by the state. 

Conry said during the meeting that this increase is needed to keep up with rising costs and inflation. 

One tuition rate was set immediately at the September 10 meeting. The price of one-on-one student supervision, when a student needs constant support throughout the day, was previously not determined. 

Currently, there are no out-of-district students in Acton who need this support, so officials felt comfortable immediately setting a cost for that service at $58,000 a year. 

According to Hunter, five out-of-district special education students are enrolled in Acton schools. 

The committee approved the rate increases at the September 10 meeting, and they will take effect in the 2026-27 school year.