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DPI administrative review prompts Chartwells and district corrective actions; milk and meal counting errors cited
Summary
A Wisconsin DPI administrative review of district food service found accounting and meal‑counting problems at several sites; Chartwells and district staff described corrective actions including retraining staff, updated SOPs and 30 days of validated meal counts to be submitted to DPI.
District food‑service leaders and Chartwells managers reported results of a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction administrative review at the March 18 board meeting that identified procedural and documentation errors at several school sites.
Dawn Smith, the district’s food‑nutrition director, and Sarah Warren, Chartwells’ food‑service director, described findings that included incomplete production records, meal counting and claiming irregularities in specific classrooms, and instances where required meal components were not selected by students (which makes those meals non‑reimbursable). The review covered breakfast and lunch services and sought verification that federal meal funding was properly claimed.
At Gaston Elementary, DPI auditors found that a 5‑year‑old classroom’s teacher did not verify that students took fully reimbursable meals; the district will submit 30 consecutive days of corrected meal counts and supporting edit checks. Merrill Elementary had a similar counting problem in a special‑education classroom in which a student left early and a preordered meal was not removed from the claim. At the high school auditors observed two reimbursable meals missing required fruit or vegetable components at the deli bar; those meals were removed from claims during the review.
Chartwells also noted a shortage of one milk type on a breakfast cart; district and vendor staff retrained site teams and adjusted dairy orders to ensure both required milk varieties are available during service. The vendor and district staff said they have updated site‑specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), completed a large staff Offer‑Versus‑Serve retraining session and will conduct monthly spot checks to ensure compliance.
Smith said some accounting entries were identified and corrected, reducing an apparent district liability. Chartwells and district staff said they will upload corrected documentation to DPI by the March 31 deadline and that they are pursuing additional ServSafe and FairCheck (allergy) training for kitchen staff.
Board members asked about food waste, share‑table and pantry options. Staff said share tables raise time‑and‑temperature food‑safety concerns and are constrained by federal rules; staff are exploring ways to redirect packaged, shelf‑stable or properly chilled items to school pantries and are evaluating blast‑chill options at a centralized kitchen for safe preservation of some leftover items.
Officials said the review is administrative and financial in focus; district and Chartwells staff described ongoing corrective steps and training to avoid future findings.
