Up-Island School Committee Approves Budget for New Kitchen and Lunch Program

After many hours of discussion at the Up-Island School Committee budget meeting last night, the committee passed a motion to renovate the and to take over the from the food-service corporation Chartwells.

Chartwells has had a contract with the school system for the past 23 years, but currently only serves the West Tisbury and Chilmark Schools and the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. All of the other Island schools have independent lunch programs.

Last week, the committee voted to keep the contract with Chartwells, though they did support the kitchen renovations. However, between last week’s meeting and last night, committee member Perry Ambulos had a change of heart.

Nicole Cabot, Island Grown School’s coordinator said, “Perry Ambulos wrote an impassioned speech in which he described how he agonized over his decision not to approve the line item at the previous meeting. He told the story of how he went home and found that his son was hungry because he had not wanted to eat the lunch that was served to him that day at school. He went on to say he felt it was a moral imperative to put the lunch service back on the budget, that it was right for the kids and right for the time.”

West Tisbury School principal Michael Halt also spoke at the meeting saying that he felt this was the model for the way school business should happen, where everyone comes together and works as a team that comes up with a plan and a solution.

Others in the audience noted that while these are hard times for many people, this seems to be the right time to go forward with this particular project.

The $100,000 to cover the one-time cost to renovate the kitchen will come from E&D funds and an $80,000 line item for food will be added to the budget going forward. The renovation will bring the existing kitchen to code, removing steam trays and replacing them with prep space.

There will also be over $100,000 worth of donated time put in to the renovation. Cabot explained that parents are ready to get involved on every level. “The plumbing will be donated by Dave Sprague of Nelson Mechanical; the electrical work will be done by Steve Gallager of Gallager Electric and the whole project will be handled by Jason Napior and Radius Construction. All of these people have children who attend an Up-Island school,” she said. “And all the farmers want to grow food for us and said they’ll do it for regular rates.” Additionally, Ryan Bushey of South Mountain Company has worked for many pro bono hours creating the kitchen's design. "Construction could begin after July 4th of 2012 and be finished in time for next school year," said Cabot. For those interested, the design will be available at the West Tisbury School front office.

In the end, all committee members but one voted to both renovate the kitchen and add a line item to the budget to support an independent food program for the West Tisbury and Chilmark Schools.

Noli Taylor, director of Island Grown Schools said, “We are thrilled that the Up Island School Committee made the courageous choice to invest in better food for the children of West Tisbury and Chilmark Schools. This decision is the product of the hard work of so many in the community: parents, students, teachers, school principals, administrators, concerned community members, Boards of Health, selectman and more. This has truly been a community movement for change at a moment when communities all over the country are looking for models to find out how to end corporate food contracts and improve their meals programs. Now it’s up to the voters to stand for children’s health and wellness by supporting the school budget at town meeting in April.”

Though there was much rejoicing as the votes were cast, Cabot echoed Taylor’s sentiments regarding the next steps. “Now that it is in the budget, it’s imperative that anyone who believes in this be at their town meeting in April. Whether you live in Aquinnah, Chilmark or West Tisbury, go to your town meeting and be vocal with your support.”