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School committee directs superintendent to explore one‑year rollover of Chartwells contract as state RFP stalls
Summary
After the state RFP for school food services remained in review, the district's chief financial officer outlined options including a one‑year rollover with Chartwells; a former Chartwells worker told the committee she and others remain unhappy with food quality and fear retaliation for complaints.
The South Kingstown School Committee on Tuesday directed the superintendent to investigate the parameters of a one‑year rollover of the district's food service contract with Chartwells after learning the state RFP is still under review and bids likely would not return until mid‑March.
Chief Financial Officer Mrs. Proctor told the committee the state has submitted a request for proposals that "is in the review status" and has not been released to bid; if the state process returns no bidders, "the contract will then roll forward, and then we can meet with our food service company, which is Chartwells, and we will go over our own in‑house contract with them and draft a 1 year extension".
Committee members asked about the market for vendors; Mrs. Proctor listed national providers including Sodexo and Aramark and said smaller firms also bid. She described ongoing monthly meetings with Chartwells operations staff and said Chartwells has been "extremely easy to work with," citing examples of operational cooperation.
A former Chartwells worker who addressed the committee said her experience differed. "They're not happy," the speaker said of current kitchen staff, and added employees had told her they feared retaliation for raising problems: "They don't want no retaliation." The worker also said her child has complained about meal quality and presentation.
Mrs. Proctor responded that procurement and funding sources help determine product quality, noting district purchases rely on USDA 'brown box' funding, fresh fruit and vegetable grants and farm‑to‑market programs. She said menu submissions are reviewed by the state and that some differences in product quality stem from vendors' supply chains.
Committee members agreed to involve the wellness subcommittee and student voice in any review, and Chair Carol Vetter said the superintendent should be directed to "investigate the parameters of a 1 year rollover with Chartwells." The committee did not take a formal roll‑call vote on the directive but the chair stated the action as the committee's directive.
Next steps: the superintendent will report back with the parameters of a potential one‑year extension and the committee signaled interest in stakeholder input, including the wellness subcommittee and student surveys.
