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Board approves Sodexo contract amendment; trustees debate meal-debt relief and activity meal increases
Summary
The board approved a contract amendment with Sodexo that raises the district's per-meal charge by 15 cents. Trustees also discussed a $80,000 student lunch debt, a recent $2,862 donation to debt relief, and options to raise travel meal stipends for students traveling with activities.
Albany County School District #1 on May 14 approved a second amendment to its food-service contract with Sodexo that includes a 15-cent per-meal CPI increase. The board also discussed student lunch debt, a small community donation and proposals to raise per-diem meal amounts for students traveling on district activities.
Miss Green, presenting the contract amendment, said the change is a standard CPI-based increase that raises the district’s per-meal charge for breakfast and lunch. "This is the amendment to the contract. This is the second amendment to the original contract that happened 2 years ago. And it is your typical increase to extend the contract for another year and then, CPI consumer price index, increase, and that was, 15¢ to each meal and breakfast that Sodexo will increase in their charge to us," she said.
Lunch debt and donations: Miss Green told trustees the district's outstanding student lunch debt is about $80,000. She acknowledged a community donation of $2,862 (from Hilton Garden Inn and the Wyoming Hunger Initiative) intended to reduce lunch debt and said the amount helps but is small relative to total debt: "It helps out, but in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't stretch far for our kiddos," she said.
Activity-travel meal stipends: Trustees considered the current $12-per-day food allowance for students on activity trips and discussed proposals to increase it. Miss Green presented three scenarios: $20/day (+$120,000), $27/day (+$215,000) and $35/day (+$325,000). Several trustees expressed support for increasing the stipend to better cover realistic meal costs when students travel for athletics, choir or other extracurriculars. Trustee Christine and Trustee Marshall noted that the stipend covers non-athletic traveling groups as well as teams.
Board action and next steps: Trustees approved the Sodexo contract amendment on a voice vote. They also directed staff to incorporate the activity-meal increase options into the preliminary budget work, and staff said they would return with detailed cost worksheets.
Why it matters: Meal service pricing and lunch debt affect students daily and have budgetary implications. The district faces policy choices about subsidizing meals and setting realistic travel allowances for activity participants.
