Tahlequah schools report shortfall in child-nutrition operations while keeping meals free under CEP

Lacey Wilson, the district’s director of federal programs who oversees child nutrition, told the Tahlequah Public Schools Board of Education on July 27 that the child-nutrition program served hundreds of thousands of meals this year but spent about $83,000 more than it received in reimbursements.

Wilson said the program’s revenue for the year was $2,665,000 and the Chartwells invoice for food and services totaled $2,159,645.85. She said the child-nutrition carryover available to the program is $707,000, and she used some of that fund to cover the shortfall this year.

Why it matters: The district participates in the federal Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows schools that meet a direct-certification threshold to provide breakfast and lunch at no charge to all students. Wilson said Tahlequah’s direct-certification rate is 53.98 percent, which translates under the formula the district uses to roughly 86.38 percent of meals qualifying for the highest reimbursement tier. She warned that a proposed change to require 60 percent direct certification would jeopardize Tahlequah’s eligibility.

Wilson said the program “fed every kid breakfast and lunch,” and that the district chose to keep universal free meals despite not breaking even this year. “I fed every kid breakfast and lunch,” she told the board.

Supporting details and context: Wilson walked the board through line items in her department’s budget. She said equipment purchases and a commodity buyback tied to a vendor change (when Sodexo left and the district moved to Chartwells) accounted for atypical one-time costs; she listed equipment spending of $23,640.42 and said a replacement freezer would cost about $55,000 if needed. She also noted the child-nutrition program pays utilities, pest control and repair costs for its square footage at district sites.

Wilson described a $50,000 guarantee Chartwells provided in the district’s request-for-proposal (RFP) — intended to prevent the district from losing money relative to historical levels — but said it is not yet clear whether the guarantee covers the $83,000 shortfall or how the state counts unusual nonrecurring costs when determining whether Chartwells met the guarantee. The district is “going back and forth with the state and with Chartwells” to resolve that accounting, she said.

On operations, Wilson described summer meal delivery to neighborhoods (Garden Walk and Fox) and said staff and volunteers helped deliver five breakfasts and five lunches per child for several weeks this summer. She also credited Chartwells for a new hire (Chef Mark) and said the vendor will introduce sports-nutrition ideas aimed at student athletes.

Board discussion and concerns: Board members asked for a clearer breakdown of which child-nutrition costs are coded to the child-nutrition fund versus other district funds, and whether utilities and pest control are charged to the program. Wilson said the program is “very rule oriented” and that staff code every allowable cost to the child-nutrition fund. Members asked the district to provide more frequent updates so the board can monitor the Chartwells guarantee and any recurring shortfalls.

Next steps: Wilson said she would continue to provide monthly updates and pursue clarification from Chartwells and the state about the $50,000 guarantee and whether the vendor owes reimbursement for the fiscal-year shortfall. The board did not vote on program changes at the meeting.

Ending note: Board members praised the work of child-nutrition staff and volunteers; the meeting record shows the board intends to monitor whether the program remains sustainable if federal reimbursements or direct-certification rules change.