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Hutto ISD students will pay slightly more for school lunches in the 2026-27 school year.
What you need to know
The district's board of trustees approved a 10-cent increase to lunch prices in a June 25 board meeting. For students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, this means regularly priced lunches will be $3.10 with the start of the new school year; lunches for students in sixth through 12th grade will be $3.35.
What they're saying
HISD's Assistant Superintendent of Operations Dustin Barton said the district has historically maintained a positive child nutrition budget fund balance and that this increase is needed to maintain a positive balance. Not sustaining a positive balance would make the district subject to a paid lunch equity calculation, he said, which would result in higher lunch prices. This calculation compares the average price of paid lunches to the difference between federal reimbursements for free and paid meals, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and could require school districts to increase prices.
"It's about a dollar increase," Barton said. "It behooves us to do slight increases to maintain that positive fund balance."
Did you know?
Families can apply for their students to receive free or reduced lunch at www.hipponation.org/child-nutrition-services/free-reduced-meal-information.
One more thing
District administrators confirmed HISD would continue to provide breakfast free of charge to all students in the 2026-27 school year.
