The Pleasant Valley School Board is considering replacing the current in-house food service management with an outside company.

Business manager Michael Simonetta proposed the idea at their planning meeting on March 20, where it was discussed.

They approved putting out a Request for Proposals from interested companies at their regular meeting on March 23.

Simonetta said the current Food Services Program has been running at a deficit of $1.4 million. He thinks an outside company would saving the school district money.

“If we move to a management company, there’s a number of things that can be done in an RFP,” he said. “There’s better buying power, better availability to supply chains. This management company would manage all of the programs, due the meals, cook, and provide services to the community where we request.”

As for the current food service employees, Simonetta said all of them would remain in their jobs, except for the director of the program. That position would be held by someone employed by the food management company.

Beverly Hendricks is the current director of the Food Services program for the school district. It was unclear if she would be offered a different position or not.

Simonetta once the school district has received proposals from food service management companies, then one could be selected as early as the May 5 meeting. The company would handle food service management for the entire school district.

Director Todd Kresge said at the planning meeting that the school district tried an outside management company years ago.

“It failed miserably,” he said. “If they charge us say $2 million this year? What’s to say that next year it won’t be $3 million?

Simonetta said there’s a maximum amount they can increase and the state is very strict about it.

“There’s very little, what they can increase each year,” Simonetta said. “The other part is that it has to be known very early. If they increase too high, we go out to bid again.”

The contract would be for five years, but there would be an annual renewal, Simonetta said.

“Whether there’s an issue or not, if we want to change companies, you just do a new RFP,” he said.

School board President Susan Kresge said, “We just had the discussion earlier the fact that our numbers are up, because of the free offering. What happens if we don’t have that?”

“It’s based on the number of meals served, and if that mark doesn’t come through, then they can reduce it by whatever. If it doesn’t come through because of their product and stuff like that, then that’s when we’ll be arguing it back and forth. The fact of the matter is that we control it,” Simonetta said.

The offering of free meals that Kresge referred to is because Pleasant Valley School District qualified for the Community Eligibility Provision program for the 2022-2023 school year. In order to qualify for CEP, a school district has to have at least 40% of the students qualify as disadvantaged and/or be in a household with an income below the poverty line.

School district’s that qualify can provide free breakfasts and free lunches to all students either in the school that qualifies or in the district as a whole. In Pleasant Valley, all students in all of the school buildings can receive free breakfasts and free lunches. It is limited to one breakfast and one lunch per person per day.

Under the CEP program, school districts receive money through Title I to cover their food service costs. The funds come from the federal government to the state.

According to the cafeteria fund report for March 23, the expenses for food totaled $36,156.17.

Kresge asked Simonetta if the current director’s salary is paid out of the general fund. He said no; it’s paid out of the cafeteria fund, as is the cafeteria staff.

Simonetta said he allots $40,000 for the district’s budget to go from the general fund to the reduction of the cafeteria’s deficit.

“So in other words, we’re losing approximately $40,000 out of general each year,” Kresge said.

“Right,” Simonetta replied.