The Pine Bluff School Board intends to hire food and custodial service companies while retaining existing employees as part of a cost-savings measure. The district is currently using its own employees in the cafeteria and as custodians, Superintendent of Schools Michael Robinson said. These existing employees will keep their jobs, Robinson said.
The district will save about $600,000 by hiring GCA Educational Services as the custodial company, Robinson said, adding that he proposed this measure as a way to use money more effectively. The district has already signed a contract with GCA, and the company is expected to begin work for the district on July 1.
“What people are not realizing is that Pine Bluff School District is not the same district it was financially five or 10 years ago,” Robinson, who has a doctorate degree, said. “We just don’t have the money anymore with declining enrollment so we have to figure out how are we going to be able to keep this district financially surviving. And so, the board’s directive to me was to look at outsourcing.”
“As long as they are wanting to work, they will have their positions,” Robinson said. “The process is that we follow is their template. [Employees] have to go through criminal background checks just like anyone else would have to do with a job. We had a meeting with all the cafeteria workers and we had a meeting with all the custodians, so they already know that.”
With respect to food service providers, the board has voted to hire Chartwell’s. Board President Henry Dabner said this selection will also save the district money. The board is waiting to sign a contract with the company until the district’s attorney fully reviews the proposal, Dabner said. The Sheridan School District, as well as several other area districts, use Chartwell’s as their food services vendor.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The Arkansas Department of Education must give a final approval on the proposed contracts before they take effect, and Robinson said he expects to hear back from state officials before the end of the school year. Verdelle A. Bowie, director of business development at Chartwell’s, said the company would return about $215,000 to the district and would offer raises of 3 percent to current cafeteria employees.
“In the event that we do not make that number, we still owe you $215,000,” Bowie said.
Chartwell’s is currently contracted with 14 school districts in Arkansas, she said.
Jason Godwin is the director of dining services at Chartwell’s and is a chef in the Sheridan School District.
“We deal with issues of kids’ tastes and regulations and we want to serve the most healthy and appealing foods to the kids,” Godwin said. “Our recipes use citrus and herbs and spices to make the food appealing and as much fresh products as possible.”
Arkansas Department of Education spokeswoman Kimberly Friedman said that school districts that want to procure the services of a food service management company follow a process established by the Child Nutrition Unit because it involves the use of federal child nutrition funds. The Child Nutrition Unit has developed a request for proposal for districts to use and reviews these requests for proposal throughout the year-long process. The Child Nutrition Unit works with districts to make sure federal procurement regulations are being met.
Friedman said that the Child Nutrition Unit is in the process of completing the final review of the request for proposal for districts. She said the local board makes decisions regarding custodial contracts. The Pine Bluff School Board also considered SFE food services to operate the cafeteria.