Nashoba outlines RFP timelines for food service and after‑school care; ThoughtExchange chosen for 2025–26 surveys

At the Nov. 19 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Mulcahren and communications lead Bridget Hannigan briefed the Nashoba Regional School Committee on two operational items that will affect families and vendors: request-for-proposal timelines for food services and before/after-school child care, and the district’s survey strategy for 2025–26.

RFPs: Mulcahren said the district plans to submit the Food Services RFP template to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) by Jan. 30; DESE requires use of a model template and must approve the template before posting. Mulcahren said a typical posted RFP process will run about 60 days (posting, proposals, interviews, site visits and tastings), after which a recommended contract will be reviewed and must be approved by DESE before the school committee considers the contract for final approval. The before-and-after-school care RFP does not require DESE approval, but the district must follow procurement law; that RFP is expected to be posted in December or early January and likewise may take roughly 60 days from posting to committee consideration.

Survey strategy: Bridget Hannigan presented a year-long survey map and explained the district will shift from the Panorama platform to ThoughtExchange to avoid carrying two contracts and to improve analysis and response‑rate reporting. Hannigan described three main audiences (staff, students, families), explained the district’s plan to stagger surveys to avoid fatigue, and said leaders will schedule analysis meetings and follow-up communications so participants see how their feedback is used. Regarding anonymity, Hannigan said the approach depends on the survey: some student surveys will remain anonymous while capturing demographics for cross‑tab analysis; other exchanges will be setup to allow participants to see and weigh each other’s responses when that method is desired.

Committee feedback and follow-up: Members asked to retain Panorama data (administration confirmed it is retained), suggested adding items such as open‑house feedback to family surveys, and asked that ThoughtExchange exchanges preserve the methodological options the committee found most valuable. Staff agreed to incorporate those suggestions and to report response rates and highlights back to the committee.