Breakfast demands rise
By Heather Michon, Editor
The Fluvanna County School Board heard a proposal on the installation of new bleachers at the Fluvanna Middle School track at its monthly meeting on Sept. 23.
The track was refinished and modernized in 2025, but replacing the bleachers was set aside as a separate project. In May 2025, Fluvanna County Public Schools Executive Director Donald Stribling told the Board of Supervisors that new, ADA-compliant bleachers were expected to cost between $200,000 and $1.5 million.
Wednesday’s proposal by Keystone Sports Construction of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania came in at the lower end of that estimate, with a 400-seat proposal costing around $291,500. Moving up to 550 seats would add an additional $50,000. An enclosed press box could add between $144,000 and $169,000 depending on the size of the unit.
School officials told board members that the average track meet at the field can draw several hundred people, while a large invitational could bring up to 1,000.
Board members questioned if the facility needed a press box, but administrators argued it was needed as a sheltered space where announcers can call the plays and film the action during inclement weather.
The contractors said designing the plan would take about a month, and fabricating the bleachers would take up to 180 days. Installation would take 8-10 weeks.
The presentation was informational, and the board did not vote on the project. With planning for the fiscal year 2028 budget beginning soon, members could revisit it as part of their capital improvement discussions in the coming months.
BREAKFASTS UP 26%
A statewide survey found that 42% of Virginia households–and 52% of households with children–experienced some level of food insecurity between May of 2026 and May of 2026.
The Virginia Hunger Study, conducted the University of Chicago, found that 37% of households in the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s service region, which includes Fluvanna, experienced food insecurity. Among food-insecure households in that region, 81% said higher grocery prices had strained their finances, while 79% cited gasoline and utility costs.
In Fluvanna, that growing pressure may be showing up in the increased number of children participating in the school breakfast programs. This school year has already seen a 26% increase in the number of school breakfasts served.
To meet the needs, the division has already transferred $165,000 to food service, more than half the $300,000 wedge set aside in the budget.
Members asked administrators to provide periodic updates as the year continues.
For Palmyra representative James Kelley, feeding children remains the priority, even if it means revisiting the budget.
“The primary sin for me is hungry children,” he said. “And if a 26% increase in breakfasts means that we have a 26% increase in kids eating, let’s go.”
