That grade got the State Board of Education talking. Since last November, state child nutrition specialists have been talking with school districts about ways to regulate vending machine fare. The board's finance committee on Friday will weigh possible actions, all the way up to a ban on junk food, Ogden said.

But such bans haven't gotten far in the past here. Sen. Patricia Jones, D-Cottonwood Heights, has unsuccessfully proposed legislation to ensure student vending machines contain nutritious snacks.

A big part of the problem: Money for schools in a state that spends the least per student in the country.

Riverton High, Utah's largest high school, collects up to $2,500 a month, "maybe a little more than that," from commissions off candy and drinks, including water, juice and milk, estimates principal Steve Park. It also receives another $12,000 every year up front from Pepsi as part of a contract.

Losing that money has been a big worry in the vending machines fight and not without reason. Wasatch High School's vending revenues, once around $20,000 a year, have fallen at least 30 percent since 2004, when the district implemented the nutrition policy, principal Paul A. Sweat said. Possibly contributing to that: The school cut back on the number of soda machines. While soda prices went up, overall sales dropped, and kids buy sweets across the street, Sweat said.

Leaving campus is also a concern for Riverton's Park. He would rather see students taught to make better choices than have choices taken away from them.

"I think we need to be a little more proactive and conscious about what kids are eating," Park said. "My concern is, if kids want it, they're going to find it whether they walk across the street and go over to the Maverick or whether we're selling it in the building. In a way, I'd rather be the one selling it in the building so we can profit from the revenues and the kids aren't crossing the street and putting their safety at risk ... or coming back late for class."

Tom Hicks, executive director over the Brighton area in Jordan District, says no principal wants to cut back on activities because of revenue declines, "because that is so important to the culture of our schools."

Wasatch District has filled in some of those initial revenue holes.

Ogden said state money to replace any losses "is a possibility."

Wasatch High School also has lost some flexibility in how school money is spent as a result but didn't have to cut activities.

Despite the juggling, Sweat wouldn't mind banning all junk food.

"If we truly believe soda pop in school is bad for kids, it's our responsibility as educators to get rid of it and figure out the financial part of it," he said. "I don't think we can use the financial part of it to justify a philosophy we don't believe in."

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