Parents, get out your wallets. School lunch prices likely are going up.

Students probably will need to pull a little extra lunch money out of their pockets next school year.

Lunch prices in Beaufort County School District cafeterias would increase by a proposed 10 cents next year to keep in line with federal guidelines.

Elementary school students would pay $1.75, up from $1.65. Middle and high school students would pay $2.25 instead of $2.15.

The proposed price increase does not affect breakfast, which would remain at $1 for both elementary and secondary schools.

The increase also wouldn’t affect students on the free and reduced lunch program. Reduced prices would remain at 30 cents for breakfast and 40 cents for lunch.

In 2012, 49 percent of district students received free or reduced lunch, according to district data. That jumped to 61 percent of students in 2016.

There’s often a stigma associated with receiving a free or reduced lunch, particularly at the secondary school level, Beaufort County Board of Education members acknowledged at a Finance Committee meeting last week. But only cafeteria cashiers can identify students who receive free or reduced lunches.

“There’s no overt identification,” a Sodexo food services manager told the Finance Committee and district staff. Sodexo contracts with the district to provide lunch and breakfast to students.

School lunch price comparisons within the region found Beaufort County School District’s prices to be “relatively low,” said Tonya Crosby, the district’s chief financial officer.

The board’s Finance Committee voted unanimously to approve the price increase at last week’s meeting. It will now go to the full board for a vote.

This story was originally published June 12, 2017 at 9:50 AM with the headline "Parents, get out your wallets. School lunch prices likely are going up.."