The Board of Education approved a one-year agreement with Whitsons Culinary Group to operate the district's food service program at its meeting on Tuesday, May 4.

Board of Education Chair Keith Alexander said the agreement is effective July 1, and it includes an option for additional one-year renewals.

As district Business Director Ron Bienkowski said later in the meeting, Chartwells School Dining Services has been the district's food service provider for 12 years.

School board Secretary Debbie Leidlein said the district received three proposals for the food service bid, and Whitsons Culinary Group's bid came in as the middle bid.

Following the meeting, Mr Bienkowski said Whitsons's combined bid proposal for both management fees and corporate expenses was $125,000. The lowest bid was from Aramark was a combined $100,000, and the highest bid was from Chartwells was a combined $212,530.

Ms Leidlein, Mr Bienkowski, and board member Rebekah Harriman-Stites served on the school board's committee to vet the bids.

"We scored each proposal independently," said Ms Leidlein, before adding bids were scored by price, experience, references, service capability, the financial capability of each company, personal management systems, innovation, nutrition programs, staffing patterns, communications, and more.

Whitsons was rated high by the group for its accounting and reporting systems, personnel management, innovations, involvement, menus, and communications.

"Our committee liked the fact that the company was family owned and run. The company's proposal was very well written, and I think we all commented on how much we enjoyed reading their proposal. It had so much information," said Ms Leidlein.

Whitsons's ideas to partner with the community, Ms Leidlein said, were believed by the committee members to allow for all stakeholders to offer consistent feedback.

Ms Leidlein said Whitsons was "what we were looking for."

After speaking about the eloquence of the company's proposal, Ms Harriman-Stites said, "We are very, very excited to recommend them to the board."

Mr Bienkowski said Chartwells School Dining Services has been a good partner with the district over the last 12 years, and the decision to go with Whitsons does not mean that Chartwells was a bad partner.

"I think Whitsons will be a good fit for the children of Newtown," said Mr Bienkowski, who also said school lunch prices were specified in the bid to remain the same for the next two years.

The school board voted unanimously to award the contract to Whitsons, but board members John Vouros and Kathy Hamilton were not present for the meeting.