The price of public-school lunch, breakfast and bus fare could go up as early as next academic year, but any fee increases would not help the Education Department absorb budget cuts that could amount to nearly $70 million, officials say.

Education officials have been considering raising fees to offset a $9.2 million spending restriction imposed this year by Gov. Linda Lingle because of slow revenue growth. Those reductions came before the Lingle administration asked the public education system to trim between $30.7 million to $68.9 million in each of the next two fiscal years.

The Education Department is slowly working toward raising meal and bus fees, though proposals to hike prices of after-school programs and adult education have stalled.

The $1.25 school lunch, which rose by 25 cents in July 2007, could increase again next July under an administrative rule. It automatically adjusts lunch prices at up to one-third of the cost of preparing the meals, rounded to the nearest 25 cents, at the beginning of each two-year budget cycle, said Schools Assistant Superintendent Randy Moore.

It's unclear if expenses have grown enough for the formula to raise the price of lunch, a meal bought by some 100,000 children.

Also, the Education Department will ask the Board of Education next month for a rule change that would allow it to raise the price of breakfast, which is set at 35 cents, up to half of the department's cost. It's unknown what that figure could be.

But the reduced-priced breakfast and lunch, each fixed at 20 cents, could reach 30 cents and 40 cents, respectively, Moore said.

“;Our request would allow those changes, but not mandate them,”; he said. “;We could pursue them subject to the approval of the (school) board.”;

In the 2006-07 school year, the Education Department estimated it got $19.1 million in meal revenue, but spent $78.6 million to buy, prepare and distribute the food. The Education Department relies on some $16.1 million in state general funds and about $43.4 million in federal reimbursements and other financial aid to make up the difference.

As for transportation, the annual bus fare could jump to as much as $300 from the current $120 through a separate rule change approved by the school board last week. The proposal still needs to go before public hearings.

School board Chairwoman Donna Ikeda, the sole opponent of a plan approved by 11 members, said she wants to avoid passing costs to families who may be struggling.

“;When you are hard-pressed for money, it's probably an easy thing to do, but then you really have to consider the hardships that are being imposed,”; she said yesterday. “;I just don't feel comfortable doing it.”;

The Education Department spent some $46 million last school year to operate 540 buses, but collected only about $2.5 million from the 35-cent, one-way fares paid by an estimated 37,000 riders, Moore said.

Meanwhile, a plan to raise the $55 per-pupil monthly fee for after-school programs is not being immediately pursued. Parents who enroll more than one child in A-Plus classes get discounts.

“;Times are hard now,”; Schools Assistant Superintendent Daniel Hamada said on Wednesday. “;To ask parents that we are going to add more fee increases, I don't think that's the intent of what we are trying to do right now.”;

Schools have also backed off a plan to charge more money for its adult education program, which is free for those seeking a diploma but costs $2 per instruction hour in specialized courses such as carpentry and family finances, said Kara Mark, an education specialist with the Community Education Section.

“;Our principals are very true to the mission of adult ed, which is to provide access and opportunity for a target group that does not have a high school diploma,”; she said, noting that about 1,800 adults earned a diploma last academic year.