Finance committee: meal-counting changes, IDs and staffing are driving food-service revenue shifts

Detroit Public Schools Community District finance staff presented January financial results and a detailed update on school food service at the Feb. 26 Finance Committee meeting.

The financial snapshot: staff reported $21 million in January capital-debt millage collections and about $25 million in operating-millage receipts for the month. As of the report, the district held about $88,600,000 in the capital debt account and faced roughly $143,000,000 in bond payments due in April, which staff said will require short-term borrowing from revolving school loan funds.

On food service, the district now projects a smaller-year deficit than earlier forecasts: "Last year, we had thought the deficit could be as high as $4,800,000. We expect the deficit to come in between $1 and $1,500,000 this year," a finance presenter said. The food-service fund has a restricted balance of about $8,100,000, the presenter said, which is earmarked for that program.

Why counts changed: district staff explained that federal and state counting rules shifted after the pandemic, and the prior informal counting methods for meals are no longer allowed. A district staff member described the operational impact: cafeteria staff now must use a point-of-sale or ID-based system to record each reimbursable meal, and the transition has led to undercounting at some sites because staff are overwhelmed during meal periods.

"The more students eat, the more reimbursement we get," the presenter said, explaining the direct link between accurate counts and revenue. To address the problem, staff described increased training, more intentional weekly lead-chef training sessions, rollout of student ID cards and potential pilots to add staff in high-volume schools to improve counts.

Staff and board members also discussed using PowerSchool integration and bus-scanning to better capture meal participation and ridership data; the committee heard concerns about student access if IDs are used inconsistently and about the cost-effectiveness of hiring additional meal-counting staff. The presenter noted part-time hiring has become more difficult and that some districts are moving to more full-time positions.

Ending: staff recommended continued monitoring and targeted pilots where counts are lowest to test whether adding staff or other operational changes restores accurate meal counts and revenue. The committee did not vote on policy changes but asked staff to return with additional data and implementation options.