Hollis board reviews revenue snapshot, eyes Drury Lane repairs and raises breakfast price to $2

At its May 6 meeting the Hollis School Board reviewed a district revenue-and-expense snapshot and approved a $0.25 increase to school breakfast prices for the 2026'27 school year.

Gina presented the revenue/expense report, saying unfilled positions produced temporary positive balances but contracted services and facilities expenses (snow removal, boiler repairs) pushed some lines negative. The packet numbers showed a $242,557 unreserved balance before planned shifts: roughly $125,000 proposed to move to the maintenance trust and $23,970 to the SAU building trust, leaving an estimated unreserved balance of about $93,587 pending final encumbrance clearance in June.

The nut graf: Administration said it may bring a formal proposal in June to use available fund balance for urgent repairs to Drury Lane'including structural base work rather than a simple resurfacing'if funds free up. "My hope would be to come to you next month and request the ability to do the required repairs," administration said; the board asked for a cost proposal in June before any decision.

The board also heard from the food-service director and business manager about school meals. Because breakfast prices had not been raised since 2022'23 and food, staffing and regulatory costs have risen, the business manager recommended increasing breakfast from $1.75 to $2.00 starting 2026'27. The board discussed program accounting (lunch and breakfast are separate enterprise lines), federal program auditing (the district received a clean audit in Brooklyn) and the requirement that meal programs not operate at a loss; the board voted to accept the recommendation.

Actions recorded: The board voted to approve the breakfast price increase effective at the start of the 2026'27 school year. The board also voted to approve committee appointments and several policy readings during the meeting; administration will return in June with a refined revenue/expense report and a cost proposal for Drury Lane repairs before any fund-balance transfer is approved.

Quote: "If we have a fund balance to request the use of the fund balance to move forward with that much needed repair, I'll come to you in June with that request," Gina said.