The South Whidbey School District is in a financial bind and it’s scratching for ways to save money. One idea may be to outsource the district’s food service operations.

Today, only 32 percent of student go through the lunch lines. This year, the district’s food service operation will lose $173,000, and next year, that number increases to $190,000.

Those falling food-service revenues are one component in the district’s overall $1.85 million budget shortfall next year. The decline comes despite attempts to make school-provided lunches the meal of choice for more students.

“We have tried to improve participation and the healthy choices in our lunch program by hiring a dietician and making some internal changes, but these moves have not resulted in more participation or financial gains,” said District Superintendent Fred McCarthy.

District officials have started the search for a private vendor to take over the district’s food service program, but said current employees would keep their jobs. It’s also expected that food-service workers would remain members of the bargaining unit for non-classified employees.

“While food-service employees would still be paid by us, the chosen company could offer economies of scale by its ability to buy in bulk,” said Dan Poolman, the school district’s business manager. “They would design menus, provide cost-effective practices and help with ways to increase participation.”

McCarthy said the district has gotten estimates from an outside contractor that said it could meet the goal of 50-percent participation in lunches while breaking even financially. He cited the Coupeville School District as already achieving that level.

One factor that helps Coupeville could be the number of children eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.

“The poverty level here is at 29.5 percent, which means more students qualify for assistance,” said Coupeville School District business manager Janet Fisher. “That equates to our higher participation rate.”

Fisher said that her district has contracted with a food management company called Chartwells for several years.

“We’ve been able to keep costs down while offering high quality food service,” she said.

Fisher added that last year, revenues exceeded costs by a slight margin.

South Whidbey food service director Veronica Schmidt said the overall economy is one reason kids aren’t buying their lunches at school.

“If parents have one child each in the elementary, middle and high schools, the cost is $7.75 a day,” she said. “For many families, that might be just too much to bear.”

“We’ve made tremendous efforts to offer tasty, nutritious meals but lots of students still bring their lunches, possibly because families can’t afford to pay for them,” Schmidt said.

Another factor is the official poverty rate on the South End, which is almost 10 percent lower than Coupeville’s.

“Fewer students qualify for the free or reduced lunch program here,” Schmidt noted.

The fare in school cafeterias has moved far beyond what some may recall as the days of “mystery meat” and fish sticks. Students who buy lunch say variety and convenience are major factors. On the high school menu recently was an Asian salad,

cheeseburgers, teriyaki rice and veggie lasagna.

Lucas Yale said eating at school is faster.

“It’s just as easy for me to bring some money and it takes less effort than making my own,” he said. “I’d describe the food served as decent, middle-of-the-road OK.”

To be sure, taste does count for a lot, and students are careful consumers of what they eat.

“Sometimes the food’s a little bland or has too much fat,” Perry Cooley added while while munching on some fruit. “I go for the healthier stuff like salads.”

“I think lunch is a bit overpriced,” said South Whidbey High School senior Gwen Bakke as she ate a bowl of noodles she brought from home.

Morgan Tuttle agreed.

“Bringing my own food means I can have whatever I want and the price is right,” she said.

And Morgan Thomson added that it’s just as easy for her to bring a snack from home.

“I don’t eat a lot, usually some veggies or fruit; that works for me,” she said.

Earlier this month, the district notified 18 certificated staff members such as teachers, counselors and librarians that they may not have their contracts renewed.

Sometime after June 1, classified employees — cooks, drivers, custodians, secretaries and other support staff — will be advised of their future employment status.

McCarthy noted that hiring an outside contractor has the potential of saving the district money that could potentially be used to hire teachers or support staff in the future.

“Objective evaluation measures used in contracted food services indicate we are currently overstaffed in each of our kitchens,” he said. “We need to be as efficient and cost-effective in each of our support service areas as possible.”

Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or jvanderford@southwhidbeyrecord.com.