Good Morning, Burlington!

The school district at last week’s School Committee meeting gave an update on the procurement process for finding a food service management company to bring us through the end of the year. The three contenders were Whitsons, Fresh Picks, and Aramark.

Whitsons, the company that currently serves Lexington, Wellesley, and many other districts in Massachusetts, was the district’s first choice based on both their technical proposal (viewed blind) and their price proposal (viewed once the technical proposal was rated).

The key financial promise is that the food service company would pay for itself and be profitable—while lunch is free to students, it is reimbursed by the state, and if our reimbursements outweigh our costs, we keep the profit. Currently we have several hundred thousand in our food services account, which is surplus from the last several years. The expectation would be that, with improved food quality, more students would participate in the lunch program, which would increase reimbursements.

We also have an interim food service director, which is a position that would be replaced by the management company. One School Committee member suggested we might keep this person in a liaison position to support our work with the company, and Dr. Conti said the district would explore other opportunities for the individual currently in the role. It was also requested that the company give a presentation on success stories and provide a tasting for the Committee and a selection of students.

In the end, while a vote was not required to approve of the school district’s decision, the committee voted 4-1 in favor of the change. I don’t have a firm date on when the new food service will start, but many BPS children and families are eager to see the new offerings.

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Today in Burlington

Meetings and Events

Kindergarten registration starts by appointment today. Also, I think I put the Board of Assessors on the wrong day in the weekly—it’s actually scheduled for tomorrow. Sorry for the confusion!

• Pine Glen Kindergarten Registration (by appointment)
• 6:00 PM - Fox Hill School Building Committee meet in the School Committee Room at BHS and online
• 4:00 PM - Spaghetti Marshmallow Challenge for grades 2-5 at the Library. (Register)

Sports and Activities

Burlington athletes put up a fantastic performance at the Middlesex League 12 Track Championship, with boys placing 2nd and girls placing 3rd. Congrats, teams! Our Lady Devils also brought home an 8-3 hockey win against Lexington/Watertown last night.

There’s a girls’ gymnastics meet at 7:00 in Stoneham tonight and a JV Boys’ Hockey game at 8:30 against Reading at the Ice Palace.

Other than that, it’s basketball against Melrose. All games are on the road unless otherwise noted:

• 4:00 PM - Freshman Boys at MSMS
• 4:00 PM - JV Girls
• 5:00 PM - Varsity Girls
• 5:30 PM - JV Boys
• 7:00 PM - Varsity Boys

That’s all I’ve got for you today. Have a great one!

Nicci