Pasco schools build own lunch app

Pasco County School District said on August 6 it will stop using outside payment processors for student meal accounts and build its own lunch-payment app, according to WUSF. District officials told reporters the change is intended to cut “pricey lunch transaction fees” charged by third-party vendors, WUSF reported. The district did not provide a rollout schedule or launch date on Wednesday. Pasco County Schools’ website already directs families to its Pasco ONE app and says ONE Wallet is used to manage student meal accounts. ### What is Pasco changing in the lunch-payment system? WUSF reported on August 6 that Pasco schools plan to stop using outside processors for lunch payments and instead design an in-house app for student meals. The report said district officials framed the move as a way to remove transaction fees now attached to third-party payment systems. Pasco County Schools’ current meal-payment page says families now manage meal accounts through “ONE Wallet powered by Rycor” inside the Pasco ONE app. (wusf.org) The district’s main website also says Pasco ONE gives families access to meal-account management, grades, attendance, schedules and transportation information in one place. ### What are families using right now? (wusf.org) Pasco County Schools says on its meal-payment page that balances from the 2025-2026 school year were rolled into ONE Wallet. The district’s finance page separately says Rycor replaced SchoolPay for student fees, while also noting that change did not alter the process for adding funds to student meal accounts at that time. (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) Older Pasco school pages show the district previously used MySchoolBucks for online meal funding. A Gulf High School page says meal accounts could be funded through MySchoolBucks, and Pasco Middle School’s cafeteria page also links parents to MySchoolBucks for lunch payments. Those pages suggest the district has already changed vendors at least once before the latest move to an internally developed tool. (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) ### Why was Pasco trying to cut fees now? WUSF said district officials pointed to “pricey lunch transaction fees” as the reason for building the new app. The report did not specify the fee amount or identify the vendors being replaced. Pasco has also been dealing with higher school meal costs more broadly. WUSF reported in May 2025 that Pasco raised 2025-26 meal prices as part of a 2024 decision to increase prices by 5% each year, with elementary and middle school lunch rising to $3.40 and high school lunch to $3.95. (ghs.pasco.k12.fl.us) A school board report cited by WUSF said food, supplies and labor costs had increased. (wusf.org) ### Does this mean Pasco is building a brand-new parent app? Pasco County Schools already markets Pasco ONE as its all-in-one parent app. The district says the app includes ONE Wallet for meal accounts, along with student records and transportation information. Based on the district’s public pages, the August 6 change appears to involve the payment function inside that broader system rather than replacing the parent app entirely, though the district has not published technical details. (wusf.org) ### What has Pasco said about timing? Pasco County School District did not give a launch date or implementation timetable in the August 6 discussion with reporters, according to WUSF. The district’s public meal-payment page already reflects the current ONE Wallet setup, not a new in-house processor. Pasco County Schools says its next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 9:30 a.m. in the board room in Building 3. (pasco.k12.fl.us) That meeting is the next publicly posted district milestone after the August 6 announcement. (wusf.org)