DALLAS TWP. — Dallas School District’s One Call Now system will be upgraded for the 2016-17 school year, Superintendent Thomas Duffy said Monday.

The school district’s automatic call system is used to inform parents of weather-related dismissals or closings as well as events, such as kindergarten registration. But a bomb threat phoned into the school district in May highlighted deficiencies in the current system.

Duffy said One Call Now has several upgrades the district is looking to implement this fall, including texts and email capabilities.

School administrators are also looking at ways to use social media to alert parents about special events such as bake sales, he said.

“We need to leverage technology better,” he said.

The current system requires Duffy to enter a series of passcodes that can create a delay in rapidly releasing information. The upgraded system would allow him to send out a message to more than 5,000 phone numbers with the swipe of a finger.

In other news, the school board awarded the National School Lunch Program Food Service Management contract to Metz Culinary Management for the 2016-17 school year.

Duffy could not provide the total cost of the contract, citing he did not have the detailed agreement, which includes various pricing and billing arrangements.

The school board unanimously approved a motion to raise school breakfast costs by 10 cents and lunch costs by 25 cents for the 2016-17 school year.

The new prices are:

• $1.40 for elementary and middle school breakfast;

• $1.50 for high school breakfast;

• $2.55 for elementary school lunch;

• $2.65 for middle school lunch; and

• $2.80 for high school lunch.

The next Dallas School Board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Aug. 8 in the administration building.

By Eileen Godin

egodin@timesleader.com

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.