POLAND — Regional School Unit 16 Superintendent Tina Meserve told the School Committee on Monday that the school lunch program is about $17,000 in debt.

Meserve said the district is looking into restructuring the program and probably will have to stop its universal free lunch program.

“We can’t afford to absorb as much as we are now,” Meserve said. “We’ll know better in a month what we’ll do.”

Students at Elm Street School in Mechanic Falls, Poland Community School and Whittier Middle School receive free breakfast. Whittier Middle School students are served a free lunch.

Meserve said the program is geared to function properly if over 40 percent of a school’s student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.

Poland Community School Principal Rick Benoit said that 50 percent of his students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and Whittier Middle School Principal Shawn Vincent said 38 percent of seventh-and eighth-graders also qualify.

Meserve said it may be that not all qualifying families have signed up and this could be contributing to the problem, because the district is reimbursed according to a formula based on the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals.

Meserve said parents will be notified of changes in the universal free lunch program once officials decide on a course of action.

Among the resignations accepted by the School Committee were those of Leslie Hayes, the district’s food service specialist, and Randy Plummer, food service manager at Poland Regional High School.

In his State of the School report, Vincent reported that Whittier Middle School has 249 students this year with an average class size of 18.3 students. Approximately 20 percent of the students receive special education services.

Recounting the results of the spring Maine Educational Assessment testing, Vincent said Whittier students were ahead of state proficiency levels in seventh-grade math, with 52 percent achieving proficiency at Whittier, as compared with a state score of 36 percent.

In eighth grade math, 54 percent at Whittier achieved proficiency compared to 33 percent for the state. In seventh grade reading, 63 percent at Whittier achieved proficiency as compared to 48 percent for the state. Whittier students were behind the state proficiency level in eighth grade reading, with 42 percent compared to 48 percent.

In other business, the School Committee authorized Meserve to sign for the financing from Androscoggin Bank for the lease-purchase of a 2016 Dodge Grand Caravan from Quirk Auto of Portland for $21,543.

Meserve said that while purchasing the van wasn’t in this year’s budget, it had been high on the priority list because the district van is failing and it was determined that it wasn’t worth repairing. There is enough money in the budget to make this year’s lease payment of over $6,000, she said.

The School Committee also agreed to change the date for the district budget meeting from Thursday, May 19, to Monday, May 23, 2016.