South San Francisco colleges weigh options to meal service points | Native Information
Months after breakfast service was temporarily canceled on some campuses in the Unified School District in South San Francisco due to staff shortages, officials were offered a range of solutions on how to improve and potentially rebuild the overstretched meal service program.
Fran Debost, the district’s former director of food services and distribution, spoke to the district trustees during a study session Thursday, October 21, explaining the disruption the district was facing when it tried to hit thousands of daily Students to use since the state has introduced free meals for all students regardless of household income
The district saw a 27 percent increase in meal service attendance. The increase was most noticeable in middle and high schools, where comparing current consumption with the 2018/19 school year, the number of lunches served increased by 44% and 75%, respectively.
This influx of participation, coupled with a staff shortage, caused the district to temporarily suspend breakfast service at its six middle and high schools. Debost, realizing that she has long been a champion of breakfast services, called the decision heartbreaking but necessary.
The small 40-person team, without three drivers, has nine vacancies and three people who are ill for a long time. We urgently need four part-time site managers who can oversee operations and handle the paperwork, as well as four part-time assistants.
Filling the roles was also made difficult by a test requirement that largely disqualified non-English speaking candidates who have difficulty passing the test. To bypass the test, the California School Employee Association would have to vote to remove the district merit classification, which requires employers to select the best candidate through a rigorous performance process.
The burden is supplemented by a vacant director position, which is temporarily occupied by nutrition service supervisor Teri Inocencio.
“This year has been a tough year for all of the nutrition services departments in all of the districts. Staffing is an issue everywhere, ”said Debost, adding that he will remain available to support the district as long as necessary.
The part-time positions are the hardest to fill, she said, encouraging the district to consider increasing salaries for food service workers. Previously, a 13% raise was raised to attract staff, but these additional funds were contingent on adequate funding from the canteen fund.
A sharp decline in catering participation during the pandemic forced the district to scrap the extra dollars. Debost suggested that greater participation now might justify scaling back the increases, especially given the government funding the program is now supporting.
The district has benefited from a partnership with the Adult Transition Program, which connects 18-22 year olds with developmental disabilities with businesses and organizations to develop professional skills. With nutritional services, Debost said, students prepare and serve the food, and then do the cleaning.
Trustee John Baker, who shared the great disappointment with the district’s suspension of breakfast service, suggested that other students might be able to work for the program before or after school for pay or work experience. Dr. Jay Spaulding, assistant director of human resources, said the district is already considering the idea.
In addition to additional employees and better pay, Debost pleaded for improvements to the infrastructure that could lead to better efficiency. A $ 75,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture has enabled the department to purchase ovens and tilt pans.
But the district is still in need of additional equipment and is seeking up to $ 100,000 in grants from the Second Harvest Food Bank. Additional equipment, like two ovens in each kitchen, would enable lunch staff, who often work alone in smaller schools, to better respond to the growing number of meals requested, Debost said.
Cafeterias are also not designed to serve more than a number of students at a time, forcing staff to serve about 33 students per minute from a single file. Queues have moved slowly this year, as students reported, but could end up moving even more slowly when staff start collecting student PIN information for future exams next year.
Ted O, deputy superintendent of Business Services, said his staff had started looking for an architect who could review the cafeteria facilities for possible improvements, but it would “take a long time to find and hire someone”.
To deal with queues on short notice, Debost said the district could also move a two-lunch system that would split high school students into two 30-minute meals. Spaulding said the idea has received strong support from students, parents and staff, but requires additional work to account for class time.
As a long-term solution, Debost said the district could adopt a food court model rolled out in other districts that would allow students to serve and check out a variety of items at stations.
No formal decision was made during Thursday’s study session, so it remains unclear which of these actions the district will take. Still, the trustees praised Debost for returning with ideas to improve the program, despite no longer working with the district.
The two trustees Patricia Murray and Chialin Shieh also praised Debost for thinking of innovative solutions.
“I appreciate that you are always looking for new and better ways to do things,” said Murray. “No idea is too big to look up.”
Vaccination orders, teacher remuneration
During the study session, district officials also discussed a potential COVID-19 vaccine mandate for college students that would require the vaccinations ahead of the state’s schedule. Without a localized mandate, students would be covered by state requirements that will require vaccination for anyone aged 16 and over from Jan. 1, as the Pfizer vaccine has full state approval.
If full state approval for students 12 years and older is not approved before the end of the year, compulsory vaccination for younger students will begin on July 1st. If it comes before the end of the year, the date of January 1st will apply.
Students ages 11 and under are still not allowed to get a vaccine, but officials expect an emergency permit will be issued in November, with full approval next spring.
The district would have to build the infrastructure to implement the mandates, regardless of whether it is ahead of the state or not. Spaulding said it would take the district at least a month to develop a vaccine tracking system and remote options for students with religious or medical exemptions.
The district teachers used the discussions as an opportunity to rally for higher wages, arguing that in addition to safe schools and decent meals, students also need good quality teachers to run the classrooms.
The district offers teachers a salary range from $ 58,043 to $ 108,128, depending on experience and educational level. But educators cited the past nearly two years of working amid the pandemic and the rising cost of living as evidence that they deserved and deserved pay increases.
