Ferguson-Florissant Board Approves New Food Service Management Provider

There’s no such thing as a free (and nutritious) school lunch, and that’s what the Board of Education debated during its Wednesday night meeting.

The board voted in favor of changing its food service management company from Aramark, who has been the provider for the district for the past 13 years, to Chartwells. However, the decision to come to this vote didn’t happen easily.

Mick Willis, assistant superintendent for finance and chief financial officer, presented the board with the recommendations of a 15-person committee that reviewed bids for food service management for the district. 

The questions of nutrition versus financial savings and who served on the 15-person committee brought the meeting and vote to a standstill.

Board secretary Charles Henson questioned why Chartwells should receive the opportunity over Aramark if the current provider would save the district more than $200,000.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the kids,” board member Robert Chabot said. “As a board member, I know I have to be financially responsible for the district, but as a parent, I have a hard time doing it.”

Chabot and fellow board member Paul T. Morris said that they both served on the 15-person committee that reviewed and voted on the bids.

There is something wrong with placing two board members sitting on a committee and voting on the recommendation, Henson said. He motioned for the process to be redone, but it died due to a lack of support. 

Henson said he wasn’t saying that money was more important than nutrition, but he had an issue with two board members serving and voting on the committee and turning around and voting again with the board. 

“Being part of the committee is one thing, but voting is another,” he said.

Willis urged the board to take action sooner rather than later in order to have a new provider in place by the beginning of the 2011-2012 school year. 

He informed the board that Aramark returned $665,000 to the district this past school year, and Chartwells would return $398,000 to the district during the 2011-2012 school year. However, Willis said that committee members had been impressed with Chartwells’ focus on students and nutrition, while Aramark focused its presentation on the financial savings.

Board president Leslie Hogshead motioned for approval of the proposal, and it passed with a vote of 4-2.

“My concern was the children,” Hogshead said. “It sounded like they will be getting better food.”