At the April 8 operations committee meeting of the Salisbury Township School District, Food Services Coordinator Denise Steiger and Business Administrator Robert Bruchak gave a presentation to the board about the school lunch program.

Both Steiger and Bruchak recommended raising the prices of lunches for the 2015-2016 school year primarily to stay in compliance with the federal guidelines. Prices must remain the same as the federal subsidy received.

Bruchak said because of the increased requirements of whole grain and vegetables, the cafeteria continues to need funds from the general fund to operate. This year, $87,000 was transferred from the general fund into the cafeteria budget.

Steiger and Bruchak recommended to the board to keep the cost of the elementary school lunch the same at $2.50 per lunch.

The cost of a lunch at Salisbury Middle School is $2.75 per lunch; it is recommended the price rise to $2.80 per lunch.

The cost of a lunch at Salisbury High School is $2.75 per lunch; it is recommended the price rise to $2.90 per lunch.

Steiger said between 50 and 70 percent of the students buy lunch daily.

"The smart snack regulations have hurt our a la carte sales," Steiger said.

The changes, approved by the board, will take effect in the 2015-2016 school year.

In other business, Director of Special Education Nora Perron-Jones gave a presentation on ACCESS which allows Pennsylvania schools to receive Medicaid reimbursement for certain health related services provided to students with disabilities.

Services include occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, counseling and personal care assistants.

Perron-Jones said the reimbursement has been used toward purchasing specialized equipment, playground equipment and an evacuation chair at Western Salisbury Elementary School for a disabled student. The money cannot be put in the general fund.

Perron-Jones said there is a huge amount of reporting needed to receive the reimbursement.

Bruchak said the reimbursement has been a percentage of claims actually submitted.

Director of Buildings and Grounds William Brackett also attended the meeting to provide updates on work throughout the district.

Brackett said the intercom systems for Salisbury Middle School and WSE came in less than estimated; with the remaining money, he asked permission to change out the aging intercom system at Harry S Truman Elementary School so all four buildings would have new equipment. The board granted this request.

Brackett also asked permission to replace the SMS and HST cafeteria tables saying a handful of the tables date back to the 1960s. The purchase would be made using the capital improvement money recently borrowed.

According to Brackett, the carpeting in the administration building is buckling and he asked for permission to replace the carpet with some flooring and some carpet squares for a total of $20,000 which is also in the capital improvement budget.

Lastly, Brackett asked permission to redesign the reception area at the administration building at a cost of $20,000, also in the capital improvement budget.

Brackett's requests were approved.

The next meeting of the operations committee is 7 p.m. May 4 in the administration building.