§302A-405  School cafeterias; funds; expenditures.  (a)  The price for the school lunch shall be set by the department to ensure that moneys received from the sale of the lunches may be up to one-half of the cost of preparing the school lunch.  The price for the school lunch shall be based on the average cost of preparing the school lunch over the three years preceding any increase; provided that the department by rule shall provide a lower rate or free lunches to children based on their economic need.

     (b)  All moneys received by or for the public school cafeterias from the sale of meals, the sale of services, the federal government, or any other source, shall be deposited in one special school lunch fund.  Except as otherwise provided by the legislature, all expenditures for the operation of public school cafeterias shall be made from this fund.

     (c)  It is the intent of this section not to jeopardize the receipt of any federal aid and to the extent, and only to the extent necessary to effectuate this intent, the governor may modify the strict provisions of this section, but shall promptly report any such modification with the governor's reasons therefor to the next succeeding session of the legislature for review. [L 1996, c 89, pt of §2; am L 1998, c 311, §6; am L 2000, c 171, §2; am L 2005, c 71, §2]