The Gillett School District will take a new approach to providing meals for students and staff for the 2014-15 school year.
The School Board on Thursday voted to contract with Taher Inc., a Minnesota-based food service company.
Gillett Superintendent Todd Carlson did not have final figures on cost savings for the district but said the district wanted access to larger buying power for the food service program.
When the district put the food service contract out for bids in May, Carlson said the program operated by the district had been in the red for the last couple of years.
“We’re very close to being balanced,” Carlson said of the district’s food service budget, adding that final figures would be in soon.
Carlson said Taher Inc. is well-versed in the food service requirements for schools and can help the program run more efficiently. The company has customers in 10 states, according to its website.
School Board President Miles Winkler voted against the change, which was approved 6-1.
“I just wasn’t convinced,” he said. “It’s hard for me to imagine that a firm operating as a for-profit buying bulk can do it for less than us who do it as a not-for-profit.”
Carlson said the two full-time and two part-time food service employees will retain positions with the district, with the exception of food service director Joan Gruel. Gruel can opt to stay as an employee of the district as a cook or join Taher Inc. in a management position. Taher requires managers to be direct employees because of the training provided for management positions by the company.
“We like Joan,” Carlson said. “She’s been here for 20 years.”
Winkler was also supportive of the Gillett kitchen staff.
“I don’t want our employees to think they were doing anything wrong,” he said.
Winkler said menu changes were likely.
The Oconto Falls School District has contracted with Taher Inc. since 2011 when it decided to outsource food service due to mounting losses of $70,000 to $80,000 annually. Its most recent contract, which included a partnership with the Coleman School District, promised a profit of $31,525 for the 2013-14 school year.
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