Nashoba administrators to issue RFPs to study outsourcing food service and extended‑day programs; union and parents urge against it

Superintendent Kirk Downing told the Nashoba Regional School Committee on Nov. 5 that the district will issue Requests for Proposals to study whether to contract out the district’s food service and before‑and‑after‑school (extended‑day) programs. Downing said the RFPs are an exploratory, fact‑finding step and that administration has not recommended outsourcing.

The matter drew public comment. Kevin Keaveny, identified at the meeting as president of the Nashoba Regional Education Association, asked the committee to “question the motives of this effort” and warned that exploring outsourcing could “end a negotiated collective bargaining agreement” and threaten employees who have worked in the programs for years. Russ Williston, a parent, said outsourcing “might look like a cost savings on paper, but the real…