COLUMBUS, Neb. – Nebraska’s minimum wage increase will be passed on to parents at two Columbus schools next year in the form of higher lunch prices.

About a third of cafeteria workers at Scotus Central Catholic and earn minimum wage, and voters approved an increase in November from $7.25 an hour to $8 this year, The Columbus Telegram reports.

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The wages will jump again next year to $9, and because the schools will be forced to increase workers’ pay, officials decided to increase the cost of lunch for students and staff. Scotus Central Catholic students will see a 10 cent hike – double the typical annual increase – starting in August, bringing their lunch cost to $3 a day, according to the news site.

“Cafeteria workers are the only employees in the school who earn the minimum wage,” the Telegram reports. “Even though the increase to $9 an hour doesn’t take effect until 2016, (Scotus school board president Wayne) Morfeld said cafeteria employees making minimum wage will get their pay increases at the start of the new school year.”

Lunch costs are going up in other school districts, as well.

Lakeview schools will also increase lunch prices to match the reimbursement rate paid by the Nebraska Department of Education for free- and reduced-price lunches, though the increase only applies to student meals and not adult meals, according to the site.

“That means the average price for student lunches must be $2.70 for the 2015-16 school year,” the Telegram reports. “The district’s board of education voted this week to raise lunch prices at the elementary level from $2.50 to $2.55, while junior high students and high schoolers will pay $2.85, a 10-cent increase.”

All told, Lakeview school lunches have gone up 55 cents for elementary students and 75 cents for junior high and high school students since the 2010-11 school year.

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Some believe the minimum wage hike could also cost many high school students their part-time jobs.

The Omaha World-Herald reports some lawmakers attempted to mitigate the impact the minimum wage increase would have on some employers by proposing to keep it at $8 an hour in 2016 for workers under the age of 19.

State Sen. Laura Ebke introduced a bill proposing the change to help small businesses in rural Nebraska that depend on young temporary workers who are still in high school.

“The bill would have required paying the regular minimum wage to teenagers who have dependents and those who have already graduated from high school,” the World-Herald reports. “It would have limited employers to paying the sub-minimum wage for only one-fourth of their total hours.”

Regardless, the proposed change fell short of the needed votes to gain approval in May after groups supporting the minimum wage hike flooded lawmakers with emails opposing the bill, according to the site.

Nebraska state Sen. Jeremy Nordquist, who led the effort to increase the state’s minimum wage, called the May vote a “win for democracy,” though commenters online apparently disagree.

“This was a win for those groups who don’t understand how a free economy works, not for democracy itself,” James Enright posted to Facebook. “Minimum wage kills jobs, especially for entry level high school kids. Many studies show this. The $8 an hour minimum for high schoolers would certainly have provided many more kids a chance to learn workplace skills than the $9 minimum.”

Commenter Andrew Lighthall seemed to agree.

“Good luck kids. Try to get hired at $9. You’ll be destroyed by those making $9-$10 per hour now,” Lighthall posted. “Got plenty of retirees and college grads scrambling for low pay jobs already. If you are 16-18, too bad. Your masters know better, I guess.”