In spite of a looming $5.3 million deficit, the Juneau School Board thinks it’s a good idea to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to give out free breakfasts to all students, regardless of their families’ financial needs.
Primarily funded through state education funds, the free meals are estimated to cost about $230,000 in the coming academic year.
According to the Juneau Independent the school board voted to include the meal package in its $81.5 million budget for next year, which is more than the district can afford. To make up for the gap, the school board is looking to empty its reserve funds.
To balance its proposed budget without cutting anything or using reserve funds, the district would need state lawmakers to add another $864 to what Alaska spends per child on education – also known as the BSA.
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Juneau first started giving out universal free breakfasts using Covid-era federal funding, which has since ended. To continue the program, it wants the state to step in and foot the bill for every student, regardless of need.
Conservatives have long-maintained that universal free meal programs discourage parents from preparing meals for their children, while expanding social welfare dependency and creating entitlement expectations for families that don’t need help.
Nevertheless, free school meals have become a priority for many on the political left who claim these programs are part of the government educational system’s larger mission to provide a whole host of goods and services, including healthcare, social-emotional counseling, afterschool care for working parents, swimming classes, myriad non-instructional activities and much more.
TAKING ACTION
— The final decision on the size of the Juneau School District budget will include input by the Juneau Assembly, which must approve all local contributions to whatever state and federal funding the district receives. To contact assemblymembers, send an email to BoroughAssembly@juneau.gov.
