Free school meals bill advances in North Dakota legislative committee
Students eat lunch at Carl Ben Eielson Middle School in Fargo on Jan. 22, 2025. Free school meal advocates in North Dakota are calling on the state Legislature to prioritize permanent funding to pay for meals. (Dan Koeck/For the North Dakota Monitor)
A legislative committee on Monday supported using $140 million from North Dakota’s general fund to pay for school meals instead of using the state’s Legacy Fund.
The House Education Committee recommended passage of House Bill 1475, that would pay for lunches and breakfasts, ensuring that school districts will not be stuck with unpaid meal balances.
The key difference between House Bill 1475, which had a hearing last week, and House Bill 1553, is where the funding would come from to pay for the meals.
House Bill 1553 would use money from the state Legacy Fund earnings, instead of using money from the general fund. The Legacy Fund has ballooned to $11 billion through oil tax revenue and investments.
Rep. LaurieBeth Hager, D-Fargo, the primary sponsor of the bill tapping the Legacy Fund, said she recognized that the general fund spending bill was “more palatable” after the committee gave her bill a do-not-pass recommendation.
“The time has come,” she said of state-funded school meals.
The general fund bill passed on an 8-5 vote; the Legacy Fund bill failed on an 8-5 vote.
The bill spending general funds will go to the House Appropriations Committee but both bills will get a vote from the full House membership.
Earlier Monday, public school students from Leeds, Mandan and Valley City were among those testifying in favor of the state paying for meals in school from the Legacy Fund earnings.
Carter Hass of Valley City told the House Education Committee that his family has qualified for reduced meals. “I am blessed to have everything that I do but I have been in the position where government services are a part of those blessings,” Hass said.
Both bills are estimated to cost $140 million for 2025-2027.
House Education Committee Chair Rep. Pat Heinert, R-Bismarck, cautioned against backing a bill with such a large price tag, saying that property tax reform should be the priority.
“Every time we take $140 million away, we run the risk of not getting property tax done properly,” Heinert said. “When I ran my campaign and did door-to-door, I didn’t have anybody for school lunches, but I had almost everybody asked me for property tax relief.”