A Hawaiʻi Board of Education committee voted against raising school meal prices on Thursday, but did not address how schools are supposed to cover the rising cost of meals or comply with a state law that requires them to charge more.

A proposal from the state education department would have nearly doubled the price of school meals over the next three years, but board members rejected the raises for students after strong public pushback and concern over how increased costs would affect working families.

The BOE committee deferred the proposal for student meals but approved raising the cost of breakfast and lunch for adults, as well as the price for students purchasing a second serving. The price of these breakfasts would increase from $2.40 to $5 by 2028. Lunch would rise from $5.50 to $10.

The plan still needs to go before the full board next month.

The education department still isn’t complying with a state law mandating schools charge students half the price of producing school meals. School leaders estimate that it costs $9 to produce a lunch but schools only charge $2.50 for elementary and middle schoolers and $2.75 for high school students.

Superintendent Keith Hayashi said during Thursday’s meeting that lawmakers and the governor plan to work together to find more funding for school meals and avoid increasing student prices. There’s no guarantee that the funding will come through, he said.

Civil Beat’s education reporting is supported by a grant from Chamberlin Family Philanthropy.