HOUGHTON — The Houghton – Portage Township school board is concerned with the ending of funds going into students meal programs, Michigan School Meals, due to the possibility of a state government shutdown and the lack of a budget. School officials say breakfast and lunch will continue to remain free until Sept. 30, but moving forward there is uncertainty. The board discussed the situation at Monday’s board meeting.

“So with the lack of the state budget, [we’re] going to be communicating with parents and trying to figure out how we support our kids,” Superintendent Anders Hill said. “Lunches and breakfasts have been free since COVID, so there’s parents in our buildings that have never had to pay for lunch or breakfast, and that could be a shock.”

Hill added he believes the program has been a positive thing for kids and hopes to see it remain in the state budget. He was asked how much the cost would be to extend the program. “There’s been some talk in the House Budget, where they’ll build some of that money into the foundation allowance and make you make a decision,” Hill said. “And then you have some schools that will provide free lunch and breakfast, and some that won’t, and then it’s just a mess. So we have started to look at what that could mean to maybe extend it out a certain amount of time, but it is costly. If we continued it, it would not take a week or two, and that program would be deep in the red.”

The cost of continuing the food program for the next three months would be about $175,000, about $60,000 a month according to Hill. He is hoping a state budget is established so the school can start to plan for what it will do. Hill said he sent word out to parents there is uncertainty ahead, and said he is attending a state conference soon where he can see how other superintendents are handling the situation across the state.

Board Treasurer Brad Baltensperger acknowledged the cost, but wanted the board to also discuss the benefit of providing meals to students. “I mean, the evidence seems to be pretty clear that particularly the breakfast programs are really critical to getting kids off to a good start,” he said. Baltensperger said it would be interesting if there could be a one-month extension to the program if necessary to soften blows to families.

Hill added, “I’ve heard some rumors that maybe they would soften the blow by extending it up just one year and letting people know that it was going to end after this year, which I think would be best case scenario. I’ve also heard that maybe an extension to December 31 which would get everybody to the new year. I’m hoping we hear something.”

He also shared the last time a budget was not in place there were extension bills that kept state aid moving to schools so programs did not shut down. Hill is hoping if the government is uncertain in their planning, the program could be extended temporarily until they come up with a budget. Until then, Hill has talked with the food service director Shelby Turnquist and they have informed parents potentially after Oct. 1 if they have not turned in paperwork and do not qualify for free and reduced lunches, they could accrue a balance. However Hill said they would never turn a kid away. “Regardless of what the balance says or what the paperwork says, we’re going to make sure kids eat,” he said.

Board Trustee Buck Foltz brought up a thought as to what is going on regarding the program. “I just wonder if this is one of their ways of letting this program die,” Foltz said. “Because, obviously it’s something that happened with the beginning of COVID, and it turned out to be really beneficial. But are they going to continue it? I mean, I hate to say it, but I have about as much confidence in our legislature as I do in the Man on the Moon. So I’m not hopeful that they go, ‘Geez, this is a good thing. We want to make sure this lasts for kids.’ They’re looking at their budget, pulling their pockets out. So this just makes me wonder if they’re going to all of a sudden say, ‘Oh look, it just went away. What can you do?'”

Hill acknowledged if the school will have to cover the costs of lunches moving forward that costs would have to go up due to inflation.

In other action, the board approved the 2025-2026 Tile I Family and School Compact and Parent Involvement Plan, which is an agreement between students, parents and school staff where each party promises to fulfill requirements such as students attending school unless there is an excused absences, parents attend conferences with teachers and staff to provide programs which assist students in core classes.