For the first time in six years the price of school lunches may increase.

Currently Newton County has some of the lowest prices on school lunches compared with similar counties, according to a memorandum from Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting. If approved, the recommendation would raise the prices only 10 cents for all paid students and 25 cents for all adult meals starting Fiscal Year 2013.

According to the memo, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rule "National School Lunch Program: School Food Service Account Revenue Amendments Related to the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010," requires school's participating in the National School Lunch Program to make sure there are sufficient monies available to provide for meals served to the students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches. This can happen either through a price change for paid meals or through non-federal sources provided to the school food service account.

Over the next nine years the system will be required to increase the paid lunch meal prices to an amount equal to the federal reimbursement rate for free meals, minus the paid meal reimbursement of 26 cents.