Carmichaels board gives OK for new cafeteria program
CARMICHAELS – The Carmichaels Area School Board voted unanimously Thursday to implement a new cafeteria program that will expedite paying for lunches allowing students more time to eat. And the new computerized system will allow the district to possibly remove any exchange of money in the lunchroom.
The board hired Food Service Solutions through grant money and $15,000 from Sodexco Inc., the district’s food service provider, to install the new equipment that will allow students to simply enter a code as they line up for food, get the items they want and then check out with a touch screen monitor.
The system will be implemented in all grades and parents will be notified of the change by letter, officials said Thursday.
“It is going to be a learning experience for everyone,” board President J. L. Lechner said.
According to district technology administrator Mark Batis said the program will include two keyboards as students enter where they will enter a personal identification number and once they get the food they want, they will check out with a cafeteria worker, who will then enter the items they purchased on a screen.
The total amount of items will then be deducted from credits purchased by the students.
And Batis said the program could eventually help parents track the health of their children, by allowing them to purchase credits online and even view what their child had eaten the previous weeks.
The district has yet to determine payment methods for the lunch credits and is also discussing the best way to organize the system but reiterated that all parents will be notified of the new system prior to any implementation.
Batis said he hopes to have the program up and running by Nov. 17.
The board also conducted the following business:
– Discussed new federal regulations that are being implemented for school district’s to monitor student’s body mass index to try and combat childhood obesity.
– Discussed the reorganization and job description of administrators in the district and informally decided to table the reorganization of district administrators until next year when changes to the administration structure, including the hiring of a full-time junior high principal will take effect.
– Accepted a resignation from assistant football coach Jared Plisko.
– Hired Gary Pillar as an assistant football coach for the coming year.