Amador County USD approves $4.3M food‑service spending plan, moves forward with farm‑to‑school partnership
Loading...
Summary
The Amador County Unified School District board approved a multiyear spending plan for its food services Fund 13, including kitchen upgrades, new positions and an MOU with the Mother Lode Land Trust to pilot a school farm supplying student‑grown produce and CTE opportunities.
The Amador County Unified School District board on Wednesday approved a spending plan to reduce an identified Fund 13 excess after the food‑service program reported an ending balance above $4.3 million.
District staff told the board the food program netted just over $1 million last year and that, under California rules, the district must spend or reallocate revenue that exceeds six months of allowable expenditures. The board endorsed a staged drawdown—about $764,000 this year, $1.1 million next year and $550,000 the year after—that staff say will go toward equipment, personnel, meal‑quality initiatives and deferred maintenance.
Superintendent and business‑office staff outlined recent purchases and upgrades already underway: new ovens and under‑counter refrigerators, kitchen flooring replacements, a temperature‑monitoring system and additional meal vans. Food services director Mike Pingree described operational changes intended to boost participation and quality, including Smarter Lunchroom techniques, menu‑board signage and small‑scale ‘quick scratch’ cooking in site kitchens.
A central element of the plan is a pilot farm partnership with the Mother Lode Land Trust. Staff said the district has started planting a roughly half‑acre trial plot and plans an MOU to formalize the relationship. Scott Oneto, who identified himself as a farm adviser with UC Cooperative Extension and a Mother Lode Land Trust director, described winter plantings including broccoli, spinach, lettuce and carrots and said the plot will initially supply some junior‑high and high‑school sites, with possible expansion.
The spending plan also funds new or reclassified 12‑month nutrition positions the district plans to post if approved: a farm lead to manage production and deliveries; a food‑truck lead to operate a towable food‑service trailer; and a multi‑site lead to train staff and support consistency across kitchens. The board approved CSEA job‑description updates and an accompanying salary schedule to reclassify and raise pay for nutrition staff; staff said the lowest nutritional‑services classification will be above $20 per hour effective July 1, 2026.
Board members asked about long‑term sustainability if special funds or grants expire. Pingree said much of the plan is funded from Fund 13 (meal reimbursements and commodities) and that some infrastructure or larger items may be eligible for farm‑to‑school and other grants. He said the district will track operating costs and seek grant funding for capital items such as greenhouses.
The board voted to approve the Mother Lode Land Trust MOU and the job‑classification and salary‑schedule items; staff said they will post the farm‑lead position after board approval.
