Schools

St. Charles School Board Votes to Raise Lunch Prices

The St. Charles School Board also voted to approve summer projects such as restroom renovations, leak repairs and Asbestos removal.

The St. Charles City School Board met Thursday night and after new member Marita Malone was sworn in and new officers were elected, the board, led by its new president Dale Hallemeier, approved a list of summer maintenance projects and a price increase for school meals for 2013-2014.

Representatives from Chartwell's, the district's meal program vendor, offered a presentation to the board that included changes necessitated by the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act.

Because of that legislation, students are now required to take a serving of a fruit or vegetable. The government has lightened up limits on grains and proteins, so food service is happy to once again be able to "put a bun back on a chicken patty," said Shirley Derby, dining service director.

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However, food service will need to work to meet future requirements for whole grains and less sodium in school meals.

Not only do the requirements make menu planning more difficult, the presenter said, but they have also increased the costs significantly.

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Brazeale told that board that Chartwell's has been the district's food service vendor since 1985. The contract will be up for bid next year.

The board voted to increase the cost of full-price breakfasts and lunches by 10 cents. Free and reduced meals will not be affected.

Meanwhile, the list of summer projects approved includes:

  • Resurfacing the Coverdell preschool playground, $28,000
  • Resurfacing the driveway to Zumbehl, Jefferson/Monroe, $25,000
  • Parking lot addition at Hardin, $26,000
  • Public address system at Lincoln, $10,000
  • Asbestos removal in classroom flooring at Monroe and Jefferson, $40,000
  • Leak repairs in all buildings, $22,000
  • An enclosure at Null to relocate dumpsters, $6,000
  • Renovate restrooms at Jefferson and Lewis and Clark, $18,000
  • Storage enclosure at Hardin, $4,000

Dr. Charles Brazeale, Assistant Superintendant of Business and Technology, told the board that they were considering "white overtopping," a procedure that uses a thin coating of concrete with embedded fiberglass mesh to cover the asphalt.

"The cost is comparable to asphalt overlay," Brazeale said, noting that the preschool playground wouldn't give it "as much of a workout" as the buses on the driveways would.

Brazeale reassured that the Asbestos floor tiles did not currently present a health risk. "As long as it's in floor tile and not friable (crumbled so that it can get into the air), it is not a health risk, but we want to remove it from our buildings."

Board members questioned the parking lot addition at Hardin. "With Hardin on a postage-stamp size lot, we hate to take away any more green," Brazeale said. He also said that the additional spaces would not help with traffic problems at Hardin. "We don’t have a short-term, inexpensive fix," he said.

The projects total $179,000.


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