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The Stillwater Board of Education honored departing member Dr. Marshall Baker and received updates Tuesday on bond construction progress and a district-wide push to boost free and reduced lunch applications — a form school officials say is the second-largest driver of school funding.

The application deadline for the Ward 5 board seat Baker vacated closed Thursday, June 25.

Beyond the Cafeteria: Free and Reduced Lunch Form Drives State and Federal Funding

Free and reduced lunch applications for the 2026-27 school year became available Tuesday but cannot be distributed until July 1. Superintendent Tyler Bridges told the board that after student enrollment, the free and reduced lunch form is the district’s most important funding driver.

“The free and reduced lunch form is — outside of … a student in a seat — is the number one driver of finances for the school because it’s a weight on our state aid formula. It feeds our Title I, it feeds our E-rate, it feeds most every federal program.”

Bridges said the district made roughly 3,000 phone calls mid-year during 2025-26 to chase down missing forms and plans to ramp up outreach this year. The district is also working to embed the application more prominently in the online enrollment process ahead of the October 1 enrollment.

Child Nutrition Director Krista Neal said the application cannot be required but benefits extend to every student in the district, regardless of whether their family qualifies for free or reduced meals.

“There are just so many good things. Even if your child never eats with me, which I hope they will, but even if they don’t, it’s still great.”

Board member Dr. Clyde Wilson Jr. said he believes the program is often misframed as an issue only for families who need financial help.

“I think oftentimes, free or reduced lunch can sometimes come across as, well, ‘that’s not my issue,'” Wilson said. “If we can present it from the perspective of, this is a collective opportunity to be able to touch the lives of every student, including yours, I think that then changes the narrative and makes it a little bit more palatable in receiving the notion of why it’s necessary to complete the paperwork.”

Neal said privacy protections have improved significantly from earlier generations of the program.

“If you fill out the application online, it literally takes us seconds to process it and approve it. Another kid doesn’t know your kid gets free meals.”