Foodservice was a boiling topic at USD 257’s board meeting Monday night. MELISSA STIFFLER, freshman and sophomore counselor at Iola High School, updated board members on the S3 grant. The S3 grant stands for Safe and Supportive Schools. The U.S. Department of Education awarded $38.8 million in S3 grants to 11 states to measure school safety at the building level and to provide federal funds for interventions in those schools with greatest needs. Iola High School was awarded $78,000 plus an additional $5,000. COREY SCHINSTOCK, Iola assistant city administrator, spoke to the board about a trail right of way. The city has applied for a grant through KDOT to help create a trail from the Praire Spirit Trail to the east side of town. USD 257 owns some of the property that the city would need for the trail. IN OTHER NEWS:
Only four of seven board members were present at the meeting.
USD 257 is working toward hiring a foodservice company to help cut food costs across the district. The district is spending around $250,000 annually on in-house food preparation and delivery. OPAA, a foodservice company based out of Chesterfield, Mo., assessed the district’s situation and proposed it could save them close to $100,000.
Monday night board members heard from Chartwells, which provides food service at Allen Community College.
Although OPAA doesn’t have a large footprint in Kansas, it works with districts in neighboring states Missouri and Colorado. They currently have a contract with Arkansas City’s school district.
“We are a transparent resource and embrace those who work for the district and work under the direction of the board,” Scott Murphy of OPAA said.
Randy Whitwell and Scott Murphy of Chartwells said the business uses a lot of marketing to draw kids in. Each school level is targeted differently with colorful menus and serving lines.
A foodservice request for proposal was on the agenda but was tabled by the board. Later in the meeting the board approved the proposal and it will be sent to KSDE.
During a 30-minute executive session for personnel the board invited USD 257 foodservice staff. The session was extended twice, making the session a little over an hour. Jack Koehn, superintendent of schools, later joined the session.
Motions after the session included the hiring of Marty Taylor as assistant baseball coach, accepting the resignation of Sherman Ashmore as assistant football coach and hiring April Navarro as a SAFE BASE paraprofessional.
The grant helped provide double security doors, security cameras, an alcohol education class and the new LED sign outside of the high school.
“During a survey we scored the lowest in the communication component with parents and teachers,” Stiffler said. “Parents and teachers felt like they didn’t know what was going on at the school.”
The LED sign was purchased to update parents on high school happenings. The grant also helped purchase newscast equipment.
“There are currently a few students working on newscasts during seminar but it will be offered as a class next year,” she said.
The trail would go through a field that the marching band and middle school football players practice on. It would also go past a storage garage by the middle school.
“I’m concerned that there would be people coming by that wouldn’t normally go by the grounds,” said Jack Stanley, Iola Middle School principal. “We would have to beef up security on the garage.”
School board president Tony Leavitt said he was worried the sidewalk could limit what the district could do with the property in the future. Schinstock will return to the board at a later date with more details for the board.
— The district has used up its built-in snow days. The next snow day taken will be made up on Good Friday.
— Board members will meet with Patron Insight, a scientific polling organization, sometime this week.
— A bill in the Kansas House, Bill 2227, would move school board and other elections from April of odd-numbered years to November of odd-numbered years begining in 2015.
— The board approved an anti-bullying plan for the district.
Food service a hot topic
