NRSD School committee will hear proposal from Whitsons Culinary Group to privatize Cafeteria Services tonight

Should Nashoba privatize it's cafeterias?  Tonight the School Committee will hear the single proposal that resulted from the District's "Request for Proposals," from Whitsons Culinary Group.   You can share your opinion with the entire committee by sending an email to nrsc@nrsd.net

 

 

• The process began with a controversial announcement at the November 5th, 2025 School Committee Meeting.    In front of a packed room of staff and parents, the School Committee authorized a "Request for Proposals" to privatize the district's cafeteria staff.
• NRSD also made an RFP to privatize the districts extended day programs; it did not result in any satisfactory proposals. 
• The Food Services RFP process was delayed by several months, and ultimately required providers to act within days to join the bidding.
•  A single provider responded:  Whitsons Culinary Group 
• The RFP required that current district cafeteria staff have the option to continue to work as employees the district.  The contract would be for five years, and any subsequently hired staff would be hired by Whitsons.  However,  the districts savings through this contract rely on Whitsons taking on the staffing.
•  The School Committee will hear the proposal tonight; they'll be asked to schedule a special meeting in June to vote on the contract.
• According to cafeteria workers who met with the administration last month, the potential savings to the district is in the neighborhood of $200K, depending on how many staff members transfer to Whitsons payroll voluntarily or via attrition.    To put that in scale:  the FY2027 NRSD operating budget is  $72,553,593 and increased $2,554,449 from the prior year.
• If you'd like to share your opinion with the school committee, they have a group email address that will send your message to all members:   nrsc@nrsd.net 

 

The process began with a controversial announcement in the fall.

The process began with a controversial announcement at the November 5th, 2025 School Committee Meeting.    In front of a packed room of staff and parents, the School Committee authorized a "Request for Proposals" to privatize the district's cafeteria staff. 

Food services employees and residents packed the room at the School Committee meeting, but the Committee allowed the district administration to prepare and issue the Request for Proposals.

The Clinton Item published an article about the meeting. 

 

NRSD also made an RFP to privatize the districts extended day programs; it did not result in any satisfactory proposals. 

At the same meeting, the district announced a second RFP for proposals to privatize the Before-And-After-School programs in the district.   That RFP received two proposals, but neither met the minimum criteria:  on February 9th the superintendent announced that the effort to privatize the Extended Day programs would not move forward.

  

 

The Food Services RFP process was delayed by several months, and ultimately required providers to act within days to join the bidding. 

When it was announced on November 5th, the district intended to draft the food services RFP by the end of the year.   It was significantly delayed.  

The RFP was ultimately not posted until Friday, March 6th at 7PM.   A mandatory pre-proposal conference was scheduled for the following Thursday at 10AM.     Questions from bidders were due five days later.    Completed responses, for a five year contract to operate food services in four buildings across three towns, were due less than four weeks after the RFP was posted.

 

READ A COPY OF THE FINALIZED FOOD SERVICES RFP HERE 

 Three providers participated in the required conference and tour.    Only one submitted a proposal.

 

 Ultimately a single provider responded to the Food Services RFP:  Whitsons Culinary Group  

At the April 29th School Committee meeting, the superintendent provide an update: there was one response to the RFP, that met all that criteria.

"Food Services RFP Update: On April 6th, the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Food Service Management Company (FSMC) closed with one proposal submitted, from Whitsons Culinary LLC, Nashoba's current food service partner. While three additional companies participated in site tours prior to the deadline, the sole proposal reflects the established relationship and successful work Whitsons has built within the district. Whitsons' proposal meets all RFP requirements, including a plan for onboarding new staff while protecting the employment of current Nashoba food service employees. The RFP specifically stated that “Current non-management employees of the SFA will remain employees of the SFA and through attrition, newly hired non-management employees shall be employees of the FSMC.” Employees will, however, have the option to voluntarily move to Whitsons should they find the salary, benefits, and insurance package more favorable. In recognition of a potential updated FSMC contract, Superintendent Downing will initiate conversations with the Nashoba Regional Educators Association (NREA) to ensure open communication and clarity for current employees. The School Committee is not being asked to take action at this time, as the district's priority is to work collaboratively with the NREA. An update on the status of any potential contract implications will be provided at the School Committee Meeting on May 13, 2026"

As the superintendent wrote in his update, "the sole proposal reflects the established relationship and successful work Whitsons has built within the district."     Whitsons already has a contract with the district, and has been working within the district cafeterias for several years -- they almost certainly were aware of the RFP and had an inside track on applying.

The state Division for Elementary and Secondary Education had to approve the RFP that was issued, and on Febuary 2nd rejected a draft because it indicated a preference for providers with existing Massachusetts contracts.

  

 

The RFP required that current district cafeteria staff have the option to continue to work as employees the district.  

The details of the proposed contract will be presented tonight -- nothing has yet been shared publicly.  The contract was not included in the meeting materials posted online.

The contract would be for five years, according to the RFP,  and any subsequently hired staff would be hired by Whitsons.  However,  the districts savings through this contract would rely on Whitsons taking on the staffing.

 

The School Committee will hear the proposal tonight; they'll be asked to schedule a special meeting in June to vote on the contract.

I confirmed with the School Committee chair via email that there will be no vote on the proposed contract tonight.   This is their final scheduled meeting of the fiscal year, so they'll need to schedule an extra meeting to consider the contract.

Meeting details are here: 
 June 10 NRSD School Committee meeting at 6:30PM

According to cafeteria workers who met with the administration last month, the potential savings to the district is in the neighborhood of $200K, depending on how many staff members transfer to Whitsons payroll voluntarily or via attrition.    To put that in scale:  the FY2027 NRSD operating budget is  $72,553,593 and increased $2,554,449 from the prior year.

Whitsons requested a meeting with the current food services staff, and they met last month.

According to attendees, the financials are not particularly compelling on their own -- the maximum savings to the district is in the neighborhood $200K.   That's less than 1/10th of the year-over-year increase in the districts FY27 operating budget.  

 In Lancaster if that reduced the town's assesment by $70,000 it would decrease the taxes paid on the "Average Single Family Home" by $25/year.

 
Contact the School Committee
 

You can contact the School Committee members via their group email address:  nrsc@nrsd.net 

An email to that address will be directed to all their members.