LEETONIA — With utilization of the federal Community Eligibility Provision, there has been growth in the students electing to take cafeteria meals.

District food service director Kelsey Keller told Leetonia school board members Wednesday night during the regular meeting, in the first month of school, the district has seen additional participation especially among lunch.

The CEP allows schools in low-income areas to provide free breakfast and lunch to all its students without collecting household applications to gauge student eligibility. CEP-eligible schools then are reimbursed based on a formula that uses data from other public benefit programs.

In Ohio, districts qualify if they have 25 percent of their students are automatically certified for free meals.

For example, in September 2024, Keller said that 52 percent of student ate cafeteria lunches, where that number was 64 percent last month. “I think it will just keep going up,” she added.

Already in the first 16 days of this month, that number is 63 percent for lunch.

This is also considering that they provided box lunches as requested when students attend field trips if they fill out the form requesting it that is sent home with their permission slips.

District Superintendent Tony DelBoccio also reminded board members that the Leetonia High School band will be performing from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 8 at the annual Veterans Day Assembly at the high school, before heading to be the featured band at 12:30 p.m. for an event at the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ post 5532, 575 S. County Road in Washingtonville.

The following day will be their community send-off to play at the National Veterans Day Parade over the weekend in Washington D.C.

No action was taken during an executive session at the conclusion of the meeting for compensation of a public employee.

In other action, the board also:

— Accepted donations totaling $10,000 from Bob Hendricks toward the stadium project; $230 from Melvin and Marilyn Van Fossen towards the Class of 1974 scholarship fund; and $3400 from Beth Hall for the John Hall Scholarship Fund.

— Modified the certificated before/After Care staff rate of $25 per hour for Alicia Wolfe and Kimberly Carter Stefanak.

— Accepted the retirement of cook Lisa Blosser effective Feb. 1, 2025.

— Approved the medical leave of absence/maternity leave for Samantha Sacconi-Noday beginning Nov. 1 for the 2024-25 school year.

— Added Jaren Snyder as a certificated and classified substitute and Paul Criss as a classified substitute for the 2024-25 school year.

— Approved Angela Davenport as the nurse for the Leetonia band performance trip in November 2024 at Washington D.C.

— Approved the following supplemental contracts for Snyder as junior high boys basketball coach; Allison Francosky as junior high girls basketball coach; Corey Creamer as boys varsity assistant basketball coach; and volunteers Justin Maynard and Patrick Hull as boys basketball assistant coaches; Creamer as girls basketball assistant coach; and Addie Zohnd as junior high girls basketball coach.

— Approved the use of the fifth- and sixth-grade football playoff games held on Oct. 5 in the stadium for Leetonia Youth Football.

— Approved the new contracts with the Educational Service Center of Eastern Ohio and Easter Seals .

— Approved a resolution granting the Lisbon school district to ACCESS.

— Also contracted with the Village of Leetonia for the school resource officer for the 2024-25 school year.

— Appointed Michele Votaw as the district’s delegate to th Ohio School Board Capital Conference.

— Secured bonds for the district’s superintendent, board president and board vice president for Jan. 1, 2025 through Jan. 1, 2028.

sujhelyi@mojonews.com