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School board hears food‑services fund update as district spends down excess balance
Summary
Food‑services staff told the board that FY25 closed with a reported excess that triggered a spending plan; the district spent on replacing serving lines at Mets Middle School (project cost stated in the meeting at $470,000) and launched new revenue activities such as ice‑cream sales to manage year‑to‑date results.
The Manassas City Public Schools board received an update on the district’s food service fund, where staff said a required annual financial analysis showed the division exceeded the three‑month operating balance threshold and therefore prepared a spending plan.
Marvin Ramirez, introduced as the division’s culinary operations specialist (filling in for the regular director), told the board that “for FY25 we ended with a net profit of 798,000,” and that the vendor and state reporting formula showed a balance equivalent to roughly 3.36 months of operating expenses — above the three‑month limit that triggers a required spending plan. Ramirez said staff prioritized equipment replacement to comply with the requirement.
Ramirez described one major capital expense: the replacement of serving lines at Mets Middle School. He said that the MES serving‑line project was completed over winter break and the total cost was $470,000. The project includes new serving lines with updated fixtures, ice‑cream freezer and milk coolers; ice‑cream sales were rolled out in February as an additional revenue source.
Board members asked whether the spending put the fund at risk of losing federal or state program eligibility. Ramirez responded the district was not in danger of losing federal meal programs and that staff expected operations to continue normally. He explained the current year‑to‑date account showed a gross loss driven largely by the MES capital expense, but said the overall division food services balance remains positive and that expenses were deliberate to bring the fund into compliance with the excess‑balance rule.
Board members thanked Ramirez and noted the food service program has expanded into a small internal catering operation that has been used for convocation and staff events, which officials said reduces external catering costs.
The board did not take a formal vote on additional food‑service spending at the meeting; staff said BDOE (the state reviewer) will re‑assess and that the spending plan was prepared to meet reporting requirements and to return the fund toward break‑even across the school year.
Ending: Staff said they will continue routine monitoring of the food service fund and report additional findings when BDOE issues its annual assessment in the February–March review window.
