Les Cheneaux Community Schools is investigating whether it will outsource its custodial and maintenance services next year and the school board, meeting Monday, April 20, said it will ask three companies for proposals. Superintendent Rod Goehmann said such a move would be expected to save the district between $15,000 to $20,000.

District business manager Kris Hill said it is likely current custodial and maintenance employees could be hired by a third-party custodial vendor. She will solicit bids from three companies, likely from the Lower Peninsula.

"There are no local companies," that offer such services, she said, but companies will hire local people.

Mrs. Hill consulted with Gwinn Area Community Schools, which has outsourced its custodial and maintenance services for three years.

"They've had very good success with it," she said. "They hired their employees; the ones that did apply, they hired them all."

Mr. Goehmann hopes to present the bids to the school board at its next meeting Monday, May 18.

"If the savings aren't there and the board chooses not to do it, so be it. We at least want to see the formal bid information," he said.

District experiments

with free breakfast

The district began offering free breakfast to all students after spring break and is encouraging them to participate because statistics prove children who eat breakfast do better in school. Participation will also allow the district to give more hours to one food service employee reduced from full-time to part-time status.

"We're trying to get more students participating in breakfast," Mr. Goehmann said. "On the one hand, for academic reasons, but on the other hand, we are in this cost-cutting-mode and this is one potential way for us to raise some additional revenue."

Mrs. Hill said the district receives more money from the Michigan Department of Education when more free and reduced meal eligible students participate in the program. The district is reimbursed $1.68 per "free-meal" student, $1.38 per "reduced-meal" student, and 25¢ for each "full-pay" student. Fullpay students would normally be charged $1.25 for their breakfast, but don't have to pay anything under the school's new breakfast program. Currently, 42% of the students in the district are eligible for free and reduced-cost meals, but only about 20% of the student body is eating breakfast at school, Mrs. Hill said.

If a majority of that 42% utilizes the free or reduced breakfast, the district will receive enough state money to pay for the entire student body to eat a free breakfast and increase working hours for a food service employee. The reduction of employment status was issued last month.

The district will make a decision if it will continue the program next year based on data from the program at the end of the current school year.