Board renews food‑service contract, discusses operating model and fund impact

The Southern Door County School District Board of Education voted May 4 to approve an amendment renewing the district’s food‑service contract with Avianz LLC for the 2026–27 school year, while pressing administration for more detailed financial reporting on the food‑service fund.

Business manager Heather Kreuter told the board the amendment is a routine, second‑year renewal under a contract format mandated by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and that the proposed renewal includes a roughly 3% increase in the vendor fee. Kreuter said the district shifted during the last contract period from a vendor P&L (profit‑and‑loss) arrangement to a cost‑reimbursable, fee‑account model, which places more operational and financial responsibility on the district.

A representative from the vendor, identified as Ron, explained the practical differences: under the fee model the district pays a monthly fee (roughly $50,400 in the cited example) and the vendor receives a fixed administrative per‑meal fee, whereas a P&L contract typically shifts labor, food and other operating liabilities to the vendor. Kreuter said reverting from a fee account back to a P&L contract would require issuing an RFP and rebuilding the procurement timeline, which DPI oversees and can take months.

Board members raised questions about the food‑service fund (Fund 50), historic purchasing irregularities and the need for better month‑end reporting. Kreuter and staff said recent audits have produced a list of corrections and that some costs now charged to the food‑service fund need to be realigned with general funds. The administration proposed a July update and a more complete presentation in August once audit corrections and billing compliance work near completion.

Despite concerns about operating the program at a loss in the short term, the board carried the amendment by roll call. The administration said the renewal will be filed with the board secretary and noted the district remains under DPI’s procurement and funding rules. The board directed staff to provide a detailed Fund 50 projection and to explore, for later consideration, whether a future RFP to change contract types would be practical for the 2027–28 contract year.

The motion to approve the amendment was made and seconded and carried by roll call. The board also heard that the district continues to receive commodity allotments and that modest per‑meal adjustments and targeted grants are among strategies staff is using to reduce the operating deficit in the food‑service fund.