A food-service employee told the Appoquinimink board Tuesday that district contract negotiations left cafeteria staff feeling undercut and ignored, and raised an allegation that roughly $5 million from a prior referendum was not used to fund the pay raises staff were promised.

"When we see you struggling to explain away missing $5,000,000 and there's no money left from last year's referendum to cover the pay raises you promised us, it sure feels like we were the ones paying for the price for someone else's financial mismanagement," the food-service commenter said during the public-comment period, which the board stated it would not answer during the meeting.

The speaker said negotiations "took more than six months" and accused district negotiators of proposing more than 40 contract changes that would remove prior agreements, including a uniform reimbursement and seniority protections. The commenter urged the board to approve the pending contract that includes a dollar increase over three years but emphasized staff were "not happy and we are not out celebrating."

Later in the meeting, the board approved the nutrition collective bargaining agreement by motion and voice vote. Following the vote, several trustees publicly commended food-service workers for their daily work and recognized the union delegation's presence.

What the record shows: The allegation about $5 million was made during public comment and was not directly refuted or confirmed on the record during the meeting; officials subsequently discussed budget transparency in the superintendent's report but did not resolve the specific figure during the session. The approved nutrition agreement was presented to the board as the recommendation of district negotiators and staff.

Next steps: The board approved the contract; any implementation details, including effective dates and payroll timelines, will be handled by the district and the parties to the agreement.