Price of School Lunches Could Increase in Beecher

By Jeff Vorva

The prices of lunches are going up and the Beecher 200-U School Board is game planning a way not to get socked with a big bill.

At the May 8 school board meeting, Superintendent Jack Gaham said that last year, using Itasca-based Arbor Management, Inc., it cost $3.49 per meal at the beginning of the school year.

“In November, the state came out and said because of the shortage of food, they are going to reimburse schools another 40 cents per meal,” Gaham said. “We passed that to Arbor, which was at $3.89.”

But this year, he received news that Arbor wanted a buck more per meal and that was met with some sticker shock.

“The number they provided me was $4.90 a meal,” Gayham said. “I told them there was no way I could bring $4.90 back to my board because they would laugh at me.

“They say they are losing money on our account across the board.”

He said that it’s possible Arbor could come down to $4.65, but if the state doesn’t come back in the summer with more money, the district could be losing money on the lunch program.

“We’re not here to make money, but we want to break even,” Gaham said “We might see a $50,000-$60,000 hit.”

With time being precious on this matter, Gaham wanted to explore the possibility of sharing services with Grant Park Community Unit School District 6. He said there are no guarantees this will be an option, but the board gave him the go-ahead to talk to Grant Park officials to see if it would work.

Gaham also said Arbor’s price hike was the only negative he could see with the company. There have been no complaints about the food, and he appreciates Arbor’s daily operation.

“I’ve had zero worries about people getting fed this year,” Gaham said. “They are in charge of their employees, and they have six people here every single day. I don’t have to worry about who is going to feed the kids today.

“That is a significant breath of fresh air every single day.”

Meet the new board

Newcomers Ashley Fluechtling, Adriana Diachenko, and Stacy Mazurek joined holdover Brandy Flores in getting sworn in on the board for the next four years.

The board voted Ashley Belt as president, Larry Hermen as vice president, and Flores as secretary.

Belt asked the board for feedback on who will be on which committee before rendering a final decision for the board’s approval.

Coming and going

The board accepted the resignations of junior high girls basketball coach Kevin Pavesic, high school volleyball coach Kristin Payne, teacher’s aide Gina Graefen, and high school assistant boys basketball coach Kerry Pikal.

The board approved the employment of elementary school teacher Lynette Naylor.   

New starting time

One of the first major changes the new board made was changing the time of board meetings from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting in June.  The main reason, according to Belt, was that Beecher Village Board meetings are at the same time every second Monday, and this allows citizens a good chance to be able to attend both.