Port Washington trustees hear detailed update on school food-service operations, equipment and CEP plan

Port Washington Union Free School District trustees received a comprehensive update on the district's food-service program at a recent board meeting, covering equipment purchases paid from the lunch fund, student engagement efforts, new point-of-sale and student information technology, and an application to enroll Manor Haven in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP).

The presentation, led by district staff member Jessica, outlined this school year's equipment investments (popcorn machines, food warmers, convection and combi ovens, ice machines, dunnage racks and new cafeteria furniture), described student focus groups and tastings led by Chef Dwayne, and summarized operations and finances: revenues, expenses, encumbrances and the program's fund balance. Jessica said all of the purchases discussed had been paid from the lunch fund and described steps to reduce erroneous charges and expand participation.

District staff said Manor Haven's data now meet the 25% direct-certification threshold needed to apply for CEP. If approved, staff estimated increased participation and incremental revenue for Manor Haven and said the program would start in September if the state approves the district's CEP application. Staff also described uncertainty about a separate, statewide proposal for universal free school meals included in the governor's budget, saying the district had not yet received details on whether the state would fully cover the difference between federal reimbursements and local meal costs.

Most important details and context

- Equipment and purchases: Staff described purchases made from the lunch fund this year including popcorn machines, a food warmer for Manor Haven, convection and combi ovens, dunnage racks, a cold well, ice machines and new cafeteria furniture for Sousa and other schools. Jessica said the district saved on installation costs by using facilities staff in some cases.

- Fund balance and revenues: Jessica reported the June 30 fund balance was about $885,000 (which she said had been roughly $74,000 above the prior allowable maximum under then-current rules). As of a March update Jessica presented, the fund balance had increased about $49,000 compared with June and staff expected further modest increases through year-end. Staff provided these figures to explain why equipment and furniture purchases funded from the lunch fund were within the program's allowable uses.

- Program financial snapshot: As of March 31, staff reported roughly $1.6 million in expenses and about $1.9 million in revenues for the food-service program this year (staff noted encumbrances remain). Staff also said they had charged approximately $137,000 for equipment purchases to date and held about $259,000 in equipment encumbrances; these numbers were presented as program-level line items rather than a full audited closeout.

- Contract and margins: The district's vendor, Aramark, is under contract to provide meals. Jessica said the district receives federal and state reimbursements for meals and that the contract includes a guaranteed return figure the vendor provides; staff described a consultant's projection showing year-to-date positive margin for the program but warned that outstanding invoices and future contract adjustments (for example, inflation adjustments to vendor charges) could change the final year-end position.

- Student engagement and menu changes: Chef Dwayne has conducted classroom demonstrations and more than 45 instructional days of student-facing activities districtwide, including cultural cuisine lessons and tastings. Staff held small student focus groups (one student per grade at each school where possible) and reported menu feedback: complaints about pizza preparation, requests for pasta and salad-bar offerings, and interest in reinstating recipe-contest winners on menus.

- Point-of-sale, student information and erroneous charges: The district installed a new point-of-sale system intended to display specific entree and a la carte items (so parents see what items charged their student purchased). Staff said the district will assign unique four-digit PINs to elementary students in September and urged use of ID cards or photographed rosters at the register to reduce mistaken or shared-account purchases. Staff also described limits on a la carte items: free/reduced meal status covers reimbursable breakfasts and lunches but not extra snacks or second entrees.

- Community Eligibility Provision (CEP): Staff explained how direct certification works (SNAP, foster, homeless, migrant, Medicaid and other federally identified students) and described work combining household records with direct-certification lists to identify additional eligible siblings and household members. Manor Haven's direct-certified percentage met the threshold (reported at 25.5% in staff comments), producing an identified student percentage (ISP) the district uses to calculate blended reimbursements under CEP. Staff presented USDA-based national estimates staff used to project about a 12.1% breakfast increase and 6.8% lunch increase in participation; they estimated Manor Haven could serve roughly 1,900 additional breakfasts and 3,600 additional lunches annually under CEP assumptions and projected roughly $6,000 additional net program revenue for Manor Haven in a modeled year, while noting the district still awaits state-level confirmation of any new universal free-meals funding.

- Popcorn-machine discussion and equity concerns: Trustees and community members raised equity concerns about making a visibly 'novel' a la carte item (a freshly popped popcorn offering) available only for purchase. Staff clarified the machines themselves were relatively inexpensive and that sales are a la carte; trustees asked whether schools or parent groups could use the machines for events or samples so the item did not create a visible distinction between students with or without account funds.

Trustee requests and next steps

Trustees asked staff to provide a clearer, single-page revenue-and-expenditure summary for the food-service program and to present an annual review of the program each May. The board requested a formal five-year plan for cafeteria furniture and kitchen equipment; staff said they plan to allocate approximately $100,000 per year toward cafeteria needs (split roughly $50,000 for furniture and $50,000 for kitchen equipment) and noted a planned Manor Haven walk-in freezer estimated at about $50,000. Staff said they will submit the CEP application for Manor Haven before the state deadline and will wait for the state's approval and any guidance on universal free-meal funding before proposing any budget subsidy to the general fund or a ballot item.

Attribution and direct quotations in this article come from the list of speakers identified in the meeting transcript and summarized in the article's metadata below. The board did not take a formal recorded vote on CEP or the equipment purchases during the portion of the meeting covering the food-service update; trustees signaled consensus on moving forward with the Manor Haven CEP application and on requesting annual financial reviews and the five-year equipment plan.