Board renews Chartwells contract amid debate over custodial duties and planned staff reductions

The Fond du Lac School District Board of Education voted to renew its food-service management contract with Chartwells at its April 28 meeting, approving the renewal 6-1. Board members spent substantial time asking how the contract and district practices affect custodial workloads and whether prior informal practices had shifted duties between Chartwells employees and district custodial staff.

District staff told the board the food-service contract and renewals are governed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction's request-for-proposal process: districts award a base-year contract (the district's base proposal dated 2023) and may approve renewals for additional years up to a five-year total before reopening the RFP. Staff said the district was acting on a second renewal year this evening; they advised that if the board wanted an earlier competitive RFP it should direct staff to begin that process and noted an RFP can take roughly six to eight months.

Board members raised two linked concerns: whether Chartwells staff or district…