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School
Committee OKs lunch price increase
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
In response
to rising food prices and supply costs, the School Committee
voted last month to accept Superintendent John D’Auria’s
recommendation to increase school lunch prices at all levels by
25 cents.
The
unanimous vote, taken at the July 24 School Committee meeting,
marked the first time in four years that the Canton Public
Schools have raised the price of lunch, which had been $1.75 for
elementary students and $2.00 for middle and high school
students. The committee also agreed to increase the price of the
high school deli bar, from $2.25 to $2.50; an adult lunch, from
$2.75 to $3.00; and the adult deli bar, from $3.00 to $3.25.
Canton will
join a number of other local school districts that have decided
to raise lunch prices as a result of rising costs. Last week,
the Patriot Ledger reported that at least eight other
districts, including Stoughton, will charge higher prices when
school opens in September.
In other
School Committee news:
• The
committee heard a proposal from Canton High School alum Steven
Strong (’68), president of Solar Design Associates, Inc. of
Harvard, to install solar panels on the roofs of the school
buildings.
According to
the proposal, a third party would fund, install and manage the
project, and in return would receive revenues by selling the
electricity that the panels generated to the Canton Public
Schools at a reduced cost — thereby saving the town money in
the process.
In a
telephone interview, D’Auria said School Committee members were
“totally fascinated” by Strong’s presentation and unanimously
agreed to investigate the idea further.
He said
Strong, who works with his wife, Marilyn, another CHS graduate,
has completed several other major solar projects and is a
worldwide speaker on solar energy.
D’Auria, who
is also very excited about the project, admitted that actually
finalizing a contract is going to involve a journey through an
“immense bureaucratic maze.”
He said he
is willing to try, however, and is hoping to be ready for
installation by next spring.
• The
committee approved the superintendent’s recommendation to hire
an additional first grade teacher at the Hansen Elementary
School to address class size concerns. Committee members also
agreed that if enrollment increased in other grades, they would
consider additional “supplementary support” at the August 21
meeting.
• The
superintendent reported that a tentative agreement had been
reached with the Secretaries Association, the Custodian and
Maintenance Union, and the Educational Support Personnel
Association.
August 7, 2008
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