Nashville School District selects new food service provider

A new food services provider has been selected for the Nashville School District. In a special meeting Friday afternoon, the local school board voted to go with K-12 by Elior. The company will be new to the public school meal services operation in Arkansas & local officials say the company will work hard to showcase Nashville as its pilot district in the region & state. Over the past 5 years, the district has utilized Aramark as its food services provider. That contract will expire at the end of this school year. Superintendent Doug Graham said the main factor in making the switch, is that the district continues to see a decline in the number of students who are eating meals on campus:

K-12 by Elior will also provide some additional services not seen in the past. The company plans to provide a chef for the district & will also utilize a food truck.

The Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation has determined approximately $77.5m in funding which is to be distributed to schools across the state in order to construct, expand, or replace academic-related spaces. The newly approved funding is the state’s share of the cost of the district building projects — a percentage of the total project cost. The state’s share is determined by a district’s enrollment and its local property tax wealth, with wealthier districts qualifying for smaller percentages of state building aid or even no state building aid.

The financial aid for school buildings is the result of Arkansas’ Academic Facilities Partnership Program.

Officials began that program in 2006 to modernize public schools in response to a state Supreme Court decision that had declared Arkansas’ public schools inequitable, inadequate and unconstitutional. This initiative is scheduled to span from 2021-2023 with Nashville’s portion scheduled for approval in the 2021 year. If approved the Nashville School District would receive approximately $1.3m which will go towards replacing the Nashville Primary School’s Roof.

The Nashville School District has decided to eliminate the virtual learning method for the 2021-2022 school year & will only offer on-campus instruction. Based on a recommendation from Superintendent Doug Graham, the school board voted 4-0 in their special meeting Friday to have all students return to campus next year. Earlier this year, Graham said many students who selected the virtual method for the 2020-2021 school year weren’t having success with the program. The district had considered offering a reduced virtual learning program for students in the 9th-12th grades, but Nashville joined many other larger districts in the state in deciding to return to the traditional on-campus learning model. Arkansas school districts had to submit their final plans to state education officials by Friday.