School board delays vote on outsourcing foodservice

DICKSON, Tenn. — Looking at a rushed timeline and a roomful of Dickson County School District cafeteria staff, the county school board decided to hold off any decision about possibly privatizing some areas of the school district’s food service.

Board Chair Tim Potter, echoing the other board members’ statements, said a decision at the Thursday night meeting was never likely without more input from food service staff and another school year to analyze the service.

“I think it was brought to the board’s attention after one or more of the board members thought about how we can improve the system,” Potter said. “Look, the system is in need of some improvement.”

“I certainly would not vote for this tonight. That was not my intention,” Potter added. “Would want to talk to the school nutrition person…if the board thinks there are some areas that need improvement.”

Board member Kirk Vandivort, who first mentioned studying privatization of the food service, said there was “certainly an effort to consider this. But this is not a timeline we can operate under.”

“We have too many people affected here,” Vandivort added. “Let’s not move forward tonight.”

Schools Director Dr. Danny Weeks and his staff had contacted the state and worked with several food service vendors. The vendors, through media stories about the discussions, contacted the school system.

School officials say Oak Ridge City Schools are Tennessee’s only school district using a cafeteria contractor.

Weeks told the board Thursday that the vendors would need to takeover whatever operation they were requested to handle by July 1. That deadline would make for a tight schedule for requesting proposals and then reviewing and possibly approving them.

“I think this would really push us,” Weeks said.