At this rate, there’ll be nothing left for the school bully.
City bean counters want to hike standard school lunch fees from $1.50 to $2.50 to help close the $2.5 billion budget gap for the upcoming fiscal year.
The increase was revealed yesterday in Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to modify the current Fiscal Year 2013 budget to shrink next year’s gap from some $2.5 billion to $1.15 billion.
The Department of Education’s proposal would bring in $4.4 million this school year and $8.8 million in FY 2014, according to projections.
The DOE also plans to scrap reduced-price lunches — but qualifying students could apply for free lunches.
The increase is necessary because of the higher cost of food and new federal nutrition guidelines, a mayoral spokeswoman insisted. The City Council would have to approve the measure.
Other revenue would come from soaking Manhattan drivers.
The city plans to install 428 muni-meters in lower Manhattan, which would bring in nearly $9 million over the next 18 months.
The Department of Transportation also wants to increase the hourly parking-meter rate below 96th Street from $3 to $3.50, and from $1 to $1.50 between 96th and 100th streets.
Together, that would raise $5 million next year.
The Department of Health is planning to lose 139 staffers through layoffs or attrition — including 19 employees in the division that oversees Bloomberg’s obesity prevention division.
The revenue is necessary, officials argued, because the final FY 2014 budget must be balanced before it is passed next June.
That means more cuts are likely when Bloomberg formally presents his budget plan in January.
Other projected savings include $12 million over the next year and a half for cutting 6 percent of the Department of Correction work force through attrition.
The city did take in an unexpected $68 million in revenue this quarter from personal and business income taxes.
And Bloomberg is also still counting on a $790 million windfall next year for the sale of new taxi medallions, even though the plan that includes medallion sales is tied up in court.
Additional reporting by David Seifman