Numbers do not add up

Some  questions that need answers to.

1- How did this lunch program get so out of control when Fact- You have to pay to eat! Or for free programs which is subsidized by the state!

2- Are we paying Gail Healy also to run a program she is clearly unable to run?

3 Where did the money go?

Here  is some information Using USDA DoD Fresh for Local Produce Purchases – USDA Farm to School Fact Sheet
https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/f2s/FactSheet_DoD_Fresh.pdf


Something clearly does not add up here when a school system of this size is in this kind of trouble. So maybe the auditors need to do some extra digging or Healy is very bad with numbers.

NORTHFIELD — After their first reconfiguration of the food service system was met with criticism from residents, Pioneer Valley Regional School District administrators have settled on a new model that’s expected to save the district $46,248 in its first year.
According to Assistant Superintendent Gail Healy, who is also the district’s food service director, the savings comes primarily from staff reductions. Bernardston Elementary School’s cafeteria manager was laid off, and Northfield Elementary School’s assistant cafeteria manager retired.
By not refilling the two positions and shifting roles of those who remain, Healy said the new plan will actually save the district more money than the original plan proposed in April.
The main goal is to reduce the school lunch fund deficit, which topped $201,000 last year and startled the auditors, Melanson Heath, who said such a deficit for a district the size of Pioneer is enormous. Since then, the figure has continued to grow to about $220,000, Healy said Wednesday.
Originally, Healy and Cafeteria Manager at Northfield Elementary School Holly Manson proposed cooking all meals at Pioneer Valley Regional School, and transporting them to district’s four elementary schools.

However, some residents expressed concern over how transporting the food might affect food safety, and Healy and Manson went back to the drawing board, reaching out to other districts to see how their food service systems compare.
The new plan is expected to save $46,248 in the first year. By additional consolidation before the 2018-2019 school year, Healy expects to save an additional $30,829 in the second year.
With Pioneer Cafeteria Manager Sue Wood planning to retire after next school year, her position will not be replaced, Healy said. Instead, the district will seek a districtwide cafeteria manager who will be responsible for tasks like food bidding, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reporting, and food ordering through the Department of Defense’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, to name a few.
“We’re trying to save money by cutting down who does all these things,” Healy said. “Preparing food is only a piece of what a cafeteria manager or an assistant manager does.”
In the original plan involving preparing all food at Pioneer, Healy said the district would have saved $27,380 in the first year and $58,209 in two years. By comparison, the new plan will save $77,076 in two years.
Next school year, one Pioneer helper, who assists with food preparation, serving and clean-up, will instead split her time between Northfield Elementary School and Bernardston Elementary School, working the same number of hours, Healy said. The helper, she said, already practiced the rotation before the school year ended.
Additionally, Pioneer’s two cashiers will each work two hours per day instead of three. With the helper working at the elementary school, Pioneer will have five food service staff instead of six.
Healy said between managers and helpers, staff will always have assistance.