Elkhart food‑service staff urge board to address outsourcing losses in sick/PBI time and 12‑month status

Elkhart food‑service employees told the Elkhart Community Schools Board of Trustees on June 24 that the district’s transition to Chartwells as a food‑service management company has left many workers facing the loss of accrued leave, a change from 12‑month to 9‑month employment and limited information about how those changes will affect household budgets.

The concerns, raised during public comment, centered on leave balances employees said they accumulated over years of service and on inconsistent communication from district administrators during the outsourcing process.

“I'm at 14 years and 7 months of service. I have 969 hours accrued. And if I total that out, that's about $26,000,” said Sarah Castelman, a food‑service employee, describing time she said she set aside to cover family needs and future costs. Castelman said she is not currently eligible to retire and asked the board to consider options such as crediting a portion of accrued hours to retirement for…