Despite a healthy budget, Ohio district increasing lunch prices

NEWARK, Ohio—Starting next year, students will pay a dime a day more for their lunches at Newark City Schools.

That’s 50 cents extra a week, about $18 extra a school year and close to $220 extra over the course of a 12-year school career. (That’s assuming the cost doesn’t go up again, though it typically does by a nickel or dime each year.)

Ten cents might not seem like a big deal, but here’s the kicker: The district’s cafeteria doesn’t really need it. It has been operating in the black for a while, and the food-service fund is sitting on about $1.09 million.