Newtown Public Schools will extend its free and reduced lunch program into January, as approved by the Board of Education at its November 1 meeting.

As presented by Superintendent of Schools Chris Melillo at the school board’s October 19 meeting, federal funding that supports the district’s free and reduced lunch program is set to expire, and due to the pandemic the school district has a surplus in its dining fund and part of that can be used to extend the program.

“Even in a good year we understand that time of year is difficult for families,” Melillo previously told The Newtown Bee. He added that with inflation and higher living costs, he knows this is a harder year for families.

Extending the program was brought up for approval by the school board at its November 1 meeting. Melillo further explained that the federal funds for the free and reduced lunches have been coming from federal School Meals Assistance Revenue for Transition (SMART) funds. The SMART program is set to end on November 30.

According to Newtown Public Schools Director of Business and Finance Tanja Vadas, other districts are facing the same situation and can choose to let the program end on November 30 or can choose to extend the program with district funding and receive some further funding from the program as a result.

When questioned by Board of Education Chair Deborra Zukowski, Vadas said there is about $600,000 in the dining fund at present, or about $250,000 more than the district is expected to have in the account. Roughly $62,000 will be used to extend the free and reduced lunch program into January.

January 23 is expected to be the first day of paid meals in the district, according to meeting discussion.

Melillo stressed that the money from the school district’s dining fund is regulated and can only be used to fund food or improvements for the school district’s food services. The funds, he said, cannot be used to fund anything else, like hiring teachers.

“Since we have the funds we felt that it was in the public’s best interest to assist families during the holiday season,” Melillo said.

The school board passed extending the free and reduced lunch program unanimously.

Also at the meeting, the school board unanimously approved education specifications for the Hawley Elementary School heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) project. Melillo said that while the project is already underway, approving the education specifications will help the district apply for grant funding from a recently established state grant program dedicated to supporting upgrades for HVAC systems in Connecticut public schools.

When asked if other school HVAC projects could be applicable for the grant, Melillo said that the time frame and requirements for the state grant program mean all other HVAC projects on the district’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) would not be ready in time.

The superintendent also shared that the district will be submitting a list of other planned HVAC projects to the state in the hopes of showing a need to continue the state’s support of HVAC projects.

Melillo said he hopes to hear back from the state about the potential grant funding for the Hawley project in February, but he also said many other districts are also applying for the grant.

The Board of Education also unanimously approved a ratified Newtown Federation of Teachers contract at the meeting.

Education Editor Eliza Van can be reached at eliza@thebee.com.