Pasco schools drop lunch transaction fees

Pasco County Schools said on August 6 that families will no longer pay third-party transaction fees to add money to student meal accounts, ending a charge that had applied under outside payment platforms. The district said it is shifting meal payments into Pasco ONE, its district app, using a feature called ONE Wallet powered by Rycor. District officials said the change takes effect for the 2026-27 school year and will be in place before classes begin. The new setup is designed to let families pay for lunches and school activities in one place without transaction charges. ### What exactly is changing for Pasco families? Pasco County Schools’ Food and Nutrition Services page now tells families that meal account management “will now be through ONE Wallet powered by Rycor within the Pasco ONE app.” The district says meal account balances from the 2025-2026 school year, whether positive or negative, have been rolled into the new wallet system. (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) MySchoolBucks had been the district’s meal-payment platform. Pasco school pages and district meal information pages had previously directed parents to fund school meal accounts through MySchoolBucks, which offers online meal payments and account management. ### Which fees are being removed? Pasco County Schools said the new district-run setup will eliminate transaction charges for families paying online for school meals, according to the WUSF report cited in the original briefing and the district’s updated payment page. (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) The district’s current payment instructions do not list a convenience fee for loading funds through ONE Wallet. (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) MySchoolBucks markets itself as a platform for school meals and fees, but Pasco’s change means the district is no longer relying on that outside service for meal payments. The district has also separately moved student fee payments to Rycor, describing it as a system that replaces SchoolPay and lets parents complete purchases for multiple children through their myStudent accounts. ### Does this only cover lunch money? (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us) Pasco County Schools says the new wallet is part of a broader district app rather than a stand-alone cafeteria tool. The district’s finance page says Rycor is used for student fees, while the food services page says ONE Wallet inside Pasco ONE now handles meal accounts. That means families are being pointed toward a single district ecosystem for both cafeteria balances and other school-related payments. (myschoolbucks.com) The district homepage promotes Pasco ONE with the phrase “ONE APP. EVERY CONNECTION.” ### Why does this matter now? The 2026-27 school year is starting with continued attention on meal costs in Pasco. WUSF reported in May 2025 that Pasco raised meal prices for the 2025-26 school year, with elementary and middle school lunch increasing to $3.40 and high school lunch to $3.95. (pasco.k12.fl.us) Pasco has also changed how free meals are offered. (pasco.k12.fl.us) In July 2025, the district said it was moving away from districtwide free meals under the Community Eligibility Provision and shifting to a hybrid model because of rising food costs and changes in federal legislation. ### What should parents do before school starts? Pasco County Schools tells families to manage meal accounts through ONE Wallet in the Pasco ONE app and says prior-year balances have already been transferred. (wusf.org) The district homepage also directs parents to create their parent portal and download the app. The district’s next school board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 9:30 a.m., according to the Pasco County Schools homepage. (pasco.k12.fl.us) Families who still need meal-price information can find it on the district’s Food and Nutrition Services pages, which list current breakfast and lunch prices by grade level and school eligibility. (pasco.k12.fl.us) (connectplus.pasco.k12.fl.us)