School committee approves student-run ‘Spirit Box’ vending program to fund DECA trips

The Westborough School Committee voted to approve a DECA student-run vending-machine enterprise known as the ‘Spirit Box,’ a project students say will generate revenue to offset competition travel costs while providing convenient, on-site food and essentials for staff and students. The motion to approve the program passed 4–0.

Students from Westborough High School outlined the plan during the committee’s May meeting. “Our goal is to provide WHS staff and students with convenient access to a variety of foods while generating enough profit to support our DECA competitions,” student presenter Shreas said in the presentation. The team emphasized that all products would comply with USDA Smart Snacks nutrition standards.

The students described market research and operations details to the committee. Presenter Rishi cited industry data included in the slides — for example, that a growing share of vending transactions are cashless — to justify offering cashless payments for accessibility. Presenter Shan summarized upfront costs in the slide deck, saying a Spirit Box base price is about $15,000 and the estimated total with products, installation, electricity and maintenance would be about $16,000; students reported roughly $4,000 raised so far through bake sales, a Domino’s fundraiser and other efforts.

Committee members asked detailed operational questions about management, maintenance and complaints handling. The students said the DECA club will select a student leadership team to run the enterprise, will publish sales data for classroom use, and will work with the district’s food-operations manager to train students on first-in/first-out handling of perishable items. On the cashless system, the presenters said Spiritbox (the vendor) performs reconciliation and retains a portion of year-end profits (students said they were told the vendor’s cut is typically about 20%). The students also said the machine would be owned by the school and could be wrapped with Westborough branding.

Board members discussed placement (options included the main lobby, outside the cafeteria, or near the gym/auditorium), power and possible permitting, and emphasized the need for ongoing oversight. The committee moved and seconded an approval of the program as presented; the final recorded vote was 4 in favor, 0 opposed.

Next steps noted by school staff and students included continuing fundraising, finalizing vendor contract details and working with the building principal and facilities staff on siting and power requirements. Because the committee’s approval was for the program concept, final procurement steps — including review of any vendor contract, maintenance agreements and insurance or facility requirements — will follow the district’s normal administrative and purchasing procedures.