Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
School District 55 Business Manager Kevin Strong told the School Board Monday night that the food service program’s catering function has been making money for the program at a time when other districts are looking at raising lunch prices.
He prepared a list of four recent events catered by the district’s food service program, showing a dollar return of $2,891 for the annual Chamber of Commerce awards banquet, $1,302 for catering the Boys and Girls Club Auction and $41 for catering a wedding.
He also showed figures for the annual high school senior sports awards banquet, which showed a return of $326.
Supt. Larry Horton told the board that the program does not try to make money on district events, like the sports banquet.
Horton said that several questions had been raised about the catering business, the main concern being whether it is making a profit and if so whether the money goes back to the district.
Looking for ways to help the food service program, the district allowed it to start using its kitchen and staff to start catering in the community, Strong said.
He cited an Oregonian story that reported Beaverton District lunch prices range from $2.10 to $2.90 and will rise by a dime to 15 cents, the second price increase in three years.
And prices will increase next year to $2.35 at the elementary level to $3.25 for high school students, he said.
By comparison, Sweet Home sells lunches to elementary students for $1.50 and to high school students for $2.
He gave credit to the food service staff for keeping prices down, some of it related to its entrepreneurial effort, he said. “We have a very competitively priced program for our students’ meals.”
At some point, the district may be forced to increase prices, Strong said, but not for now.
It also provides educational opportunities for high school students, who can work in the catering business for credits.
Students in the catering class recently competed against five schools in a contest and won two of six trophies, Horton said.
He didn’t know at the board meeting how many events the district has catered, Strong said.
In other business, the board:
– Learned that the district has 116 students considered “homeless.”
Horton told the board that 79 of them were “sharing the same household.” Eleven are camping, living out of a car or living in a shack, and four are living in a motel. Twenty-two are without adult supervision.
“That was kind of shocking to me,” Horton said. A lot of high school students are on their own in situations with no family members or living with other families.
He was surprised by the definition of homelessness though, he said. It doesn’t mean the students have no home at all but applies to several situations.
“The definition doesn’t mean their under a bridge somewhere sleeping in a tent,” Horton said, although “some of them are.”
The homelessness is spread out among all grades, he said. In some cases, it simply means families have moved in with grandparents, for example.
“Frankly, it’s amazing there’s 22 at high school still going to school,” said Diane Gerson, board member.
“It says something about their character,” Horton said.
District nurse Joan Pappin recently completed a report for the state, and this information was on the report, Horton said. He found it interesting and thought he would share it with the board.
The district’s goal with these students is “to make sure that they get an education that’s of some kind of quality,” Horton said.
Pappin directly assists these students, Horton said, helping connect them to resources that can help them, such as making sure they are signed up with the Oregon Health Plan and even taking them to medical and dental appointments. She helps some families with food and clothing, connecting them to organizations like Sweet Home Emergency Ministries. She also has donated clothing at the district office that she can give to students in need.
– Hired Mary Cascio, Hawthorne, temporary; Tim Swanson, Holley, temporary; Matthew Clark, vocal music grades seven through 12; Nicole Gardner, language arts, Sweet Home High School; Shelly Roe, counselor, junior high; and Dana Simonson, .4 full-time equivalent, special education, Holley.
– Following a public hearing, adopted the 2007-08 budget, which takes effect on July 1.
– Accepted the donation of a 1991 Toyota Tercel from Jennifer and Ed Norman and accepted the donation of an HPR927 camera from Shane Northern and Hewlett Packard.
– Certified election results from the May board election.
– Agreed to hire back Lauri Carlson as a temporary at Oak Heights for the remainder of the 2007-08 school year after she officially retires in November.
– Approved a stipend of $1,500 for Oak Heights Principal Keith Winslow for his work in the English as a Second Language program, which included paperwork that needed to be complete to avoid risking all federal funding to the district.