Board leans to keep food service in-house; will pilot tiered pricing and survey families

Administration presented multiple food-service planning options as Pam Harris prepares to retire. The staff recommendation was to retain the food-service management in-house and hire a replacement rather than outsource management to a private company.

Pam (district dietitian) outlined options the board might consider later: hiring a district chef to support menu development and staff training (the board agreed to hold that option in reserve), piloting tiered pricing at the high school so students can choose upgraded meal options for an extra charge, surveying current middle-school families about an à la carte offering, and exploring a third cold-entrée choice at elementary schools to reduce food waste.

Staff discussed tradeoffs of leaving the National School Lunch Program at the high school level (which would remove federal reimbursement and require the district to internally fund free/reduced meals) and proposed a cautious approach of one-year pilots and targeted family surveys before broad policy changes. Pam summarized waste drivers and portion-size rules as a primary cause of tray waste in elementary grades and said improved data collection on participation and waste will inform any change.

The board indicated preliminary support for keeping food-service management in-house, piloting tiered pricing at the high school in 2024–25 and surveying middle-school families on à la carte offerings; administration will return with survey results and projections on potential revenue or additional costs.

Sources: presentation and Q&A with district food-service staff at the April 8 meeting.