One Director Multiple Districts - School Nutrition

© Copyright 2019 | School Nutrition Association | Annual National Conference | July 14-16, 2019 | St. Louis, Missouri

One Director – Multiple Districts

Shelly Laaser, MS RD

Decatur ISD, Decatur Texas


Affiliation or Financial Disclosure

• Employer: • Decatur ISD, Decatur Texas

• Contracted to: • Bridgeport ISD, Bridgeport Texas

• Chico ISD, Chico, Texas

• Alvord ISD, Alvord, Texas

• Paradise ISD, Paradise, Texas

• Boyd ISD, Boyd, Texas


About Me

• Bachelor of Science, Nutritional Science, Texas A&M University

• Dietetic Internship, Mississippi State University

• Master of Science, Human Nutrition, Mississippi State University• Thesis “Diet Quality and Personal Characteristics of Children Age 6-11

Based on Their Participation in the National School Lunch Program”

• Began in healthcare

• Discovered School Foodservice

• Director of Child Nutrition for ONLY 6 years



My Original Plan

• Decatur ISD - 2013• 6 schools

• 3100 students

• 40% Free/Reduced

• Open Campus High School

• Office of 3• Director

• Assistant Director / Chef

• Secretary


How it all began

• Child Nutrition Director retiring

• Superintendents long time friends

• 10 miles apart

• Management Company vs. Consultant

• Heard about Decatur ISD success

• Interlocal Agreement


Addition of Bridgeport ISD• Bridgeport ISD - 2014

• 4 schools

• 2300 students


• Part-time Secretary in Central Office

• Most staff Spanish speaking, and almost half of staff are not bilingual

• High turnover of managers

• Heavily staffed

• Re-train, re-train, re-train


Addition of Chico ISD

• Chico ISD - 2015• 3 schools

• 650 students


• Previously with a consulting company for 2 years

• Financially motivated

• Lost $100k in SY 2014-15

• Very involved school board


Addition of Alvord ISD

• Alvord ISD - 2016• 3 schools

• 750 students


• Financially motivated

• Lost $130k in SY 2015-16

• Definition of ‘Old School’

• Former director now staff and my contact

• Last minute addition before school began


Addition of Paradise ISD

• Paradise ISD - 2017• 4 schools

• 1200 students


• Past 3 years with FSMC

• Food quality driven

• Interim superintendent just made all CN staff 8-hours

• Very high salaries

• Manager changes going into school year


Addition of Boyd ISD

• Boyd ISD - 2017• 4 schools

• 1200 students


• Past 3 years with FSMC

• Shared FSMC Director with Paradise ISD

• Open campus high school

• Vocal staff


District Schools Enrollment F/R Staff ADP Previous

Mgmt

Decatur 6

5 cafeterias

3100 40% 28 1650 Self-Op,

Traditional

Bridgeport 4 2300 65% 23 1325 Self-Op,

Traditional

Chico 3 650 60% 7(+2 serve only)

400 Self-Op,

Consultant

Alvord 3 750 30% 10 425 Self-Op,

Traditional

Paradise 4

3 cafeterias

1200 30% 10 450 FSMC

Boyd 4

3 cafeterias

1200 50% 14 600 FSMC


• Proximity – 12 miles or less

• Office

• District Vehicle

• Site Visits

• Meetings• Staff

• Manager

• Administrator

• School Health Advisory Committee

• School Board


Interlocal Agreement

• One-year agreement

• 30-day written notice for termination of contract

• Designate employee as primary contact

• NSLP, SBP and SFSP

• School board approval, first Decatur, then the contracted schools

• Financial• Payment for services based on

enrollment• Bridgeport $35k

• Chico $24k

• Alvord $27k

• Paradise $29k

• Boyd $29k

• No fee increases

• Need fee formula and increases

• Payment goes into 240 account


What I do for contracted districts

• All communication to state• Application

• Claim

• Administrative Review

• Meal Eligibility• Application

• Direct Certification

• Verification

• Budget with CFO

• Commodities

• Purchasing• Co-Op Membership

• Equipment

• Oversee all orders

• Menus• Software

• Staffing• Hiring and promotion

• Evaluations and discipline

• Training


What I DO NOT do for Contracted Districts

• Payroll

• Deposits

• Purchase Orders

• Free and Reduced Meal Application Reviewer

• Place Substitute Staff

• Work Orders for Maintenance


Comparison of Services

• Shared Director• Driver• Seen as district employee in eyes of Texas Department of Agriculture

• Consultant• Cruise Control• Advisor to district on specific topics

• Management Company• Auto-Pilot• Manages food service operations with district being ultimately responsible


Texas Definition of Roles

Consultant

• Temporarily provides support in areas where CE lacks resources, skills/abilities

• Cannot operate or manage the program

• When assumes operational and management roles, it has become FSMC

• Short-term role, generally no more than 1 year

FSMC

• Manage and operate the food service program on behalf of the district

• District maintains overall responsibility

• Contracts

• Assists with USDA Foods processing

• Provides counting and claiming


Work Smarter, Not Harder

• Email address for each district

• Cloud-based menu planning software

• Same vendors

• Large group training / grants

• District-specific calendars

• One account for social media

• My RED book

• Sales meetings

• Recipe development


Back to School Training


Culinary Boot Camp –Knife Skills


One Plan for All

School Lunch Hero Day

Farm Fresh

Friday

National School

Breakfast Week – Free

Breakfast Friday


Recipe Development


Combined Manager Field Trip

Coordinating work days for staff and managers led to 3 districts on Field

Trip


Competitive Spirit

• Salsa Contest

• Each campus had entry for District Competition judged by their students

• District Winner went to finals

• Rules


Judges

Two Rounds


District

Winners


Front Page Recognition

• This recipe used in all districts

• Positive

• Teamwork

• Pride

• Increased visibility

• Improved relationships with students and administration

• Small equipment needs


Contact Me

Shelly Laaser

Decatur ISD

• [email protected]

• @TexasSchoolFood

• @TexasSchoolFood


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Documents

One Director Multiple Districts - School Nutrition