Public and staff push back as Lafayette board agrees to explore private food-service proposals

The Lafayette Parish School Board agreed to let the superintendent pursue a request for proposals to explore options for a food-service management company, prompting public comment and board discussion about potential effects on cafeteria workers and student meals.

Julie Reed, president of the Lafayette Parish Association of Educators, told the board that the association represents all school-site educators and urged the district not to replace food service staff with a private company. “We do not wish to see their jobs taken by a private food service company,” she said. Reed and other commenters said cafeteria workers are community members who know students’ names and provide continuity and safety on campus.

Jacqueline Richard, School Nutrition Program Director from Calcasieu Parish and representative of the School Nutrition Association of Louisiana, said she had worked for national food-service firms and warned such companies typically reduce labor, consolidate kitchens and increase use of prepackaged heat-and-serve meals. “Food service management companies make a profit and line their pockets,” Richard said, and “low-quality meals means your students stop eating with you.”

Superintendent Francis Touchet told the board the agenda item seeks permission only to look at options — not to implement a privatization. “This is just to get permission from this board to look into whether or not we would get food service, a different food service,” he said, and emphasized that any formal change would return to the board for approval.

Board members echoed a mix of concerns: several praised cafeteria workers and stressed the district must ensure hot meals and fair pay, while others said the exploration is part of a larger budget review. Several board members and staff said any final proposal would come back to the board for approval and that the current action does not change staffing or employment status.