Marblehead Public Schools finance staff reported that the school‑lunch revolving account has collected substantially more revenue so far in FY25 than it did in FY24, and the group discussed which costs the state allows the account to cover.

The liaison meeting heard that “school lunch last year, we brought in 961,000 all year on revenues. And this year, we've brought in 1,240,000.00 already partially through the year,” and that expenditures through the same point in FY25 are running below last year’s full‑year total. The presenter noted the school year calendar differences that will extend both revenues and expenditures later into the fiscal year.

The meeting clarified that state rules limit what the school‑lunch revolving account may pay. “So what goes out is set up salaries, for food service, health insurance benefits for food service,” the staff member said, and added that the account pays 100% of employees related to food service, including Medicare and benefits for those staff. Other allowable expenses listed were food and paper products, kitchen maintenance (for example grease‑trap cleaning and annual inspections) and capital upgrades to kitchen equipment subject to DESE approval.

Committee members asked whether the current balance could be used to change the menu toward more scratch‑cooked or healthier options. A committee member said the committee had asked the food‑service director to consider that option given the stronger balance; the staff speaker said the department is exploring menu sharing with other districts but warned that state reimbursement levels could change.

Members noted the statutory guidance that a three‑month operating reserve is an appropriate benchmark for food service but observed that many Massachusetts districts currently hold larger balances due to universal free‑meal reimbursements. The presenters and members agreed to continue monitoring the account and to provide a recommended target year‑end balance at future meetings.

Ending: School finance staff said they will return with more detailed year‑to‑date and end‑of‑year projections and with explanations of any planned capital requests from the fund that must be approved by DESE.