Revised Sodexo contracts, software purchases, Head Start agreement OK’d by School Board

The Warren County School Board on Wednesday, July 6 voted unanimously to approve two software purchases, amendments to food and custodial contracts, an agreement with Skyline CAP Head Start, and a calendar item change related to the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival for Warren County Public Schools (WCPS).

WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger (far left) meets July 6 during regular Warren County School Board meeting with board members (left to right) Andrea Lo, Antoinette Funk, Kristen Pence, Ralph Rinaldi, and Melanie Salins, along with WCPS Finance Director Robert Ballentine (far right).

School Board Chair Kristen Pence, Vice-Chair Ralph Rinaldi, and members Antoinette Funk, Andrea Lo, and Melanie Salins were all present at the regular meeting, which was flanked by closed meetings to discuss the board’s evaluation of WCPS Superintendent Christopher Ballenger.

The board’s first approved action was to continue for the 2022-2023 school year a preschool collaboration agreement between the WCPS Virginia Preschool Initiative Program and Skyline Community Action Partnership (CAP) Head Start.

WCPS Director of Special Services Michael Hirsch told board members that the school district works “very closely” with Skyline CAP Head Start to provide a preschool option for up to 40 students in two classrooms in Head Start-owned modular trailers housed at Leslie Fox Keyser (LFK) Elementary School.

An example of WCPS and Skyline CAP working together, said Hirsch (above), would be if there was a bear in the LFK garden, “which has happened.” There’s a communication process to begin an exterior lockdown between Head Start staff in the modular trailers and LFK staff “to make sure our students are safe,” he said.

In addition, WCPS and Skyline CAP coordinate in other areas, such as Child Find, the federally mandated process designed to identify, locate, and evaluate children in need of special education and related services, including speech and language therapy and physical therapy. “We have been partners for a long time,” Hirsch said.

The School Board-approved agreements between Skyline CAP and WCPS, as well as the special education memorandum of understanding, among other documents, outline working procedures, which include the referral process, disability services, communication, and shared leadership at the local level for the program.

In another unanimous vote, the School Board voted to permit a 2022-2023 WCPS calendar adjustment that makes May 5, 2023, a professional workday and approves April 28, 2023, as a regular school day for students.

“We have traditionally used the Friday of Apple Blossom as a teacher professional day,” explained WCPS Assistant Superintendent for Administration George “Buck” Smith. “Our current calendar calls for April 28, 2023, as a professional day. The Friday of Apple Blossom for 2023 is May 5th. We are recommending May 5, 2023, as the professional workday and to approve April 28, 2023, as a regular school day.”

The calendar change will hopefully mean fewer absences in school by teachers and students who attend the annual festival, Smith added.

Additionally, the School Board approved two WCPS technology-related purchases each totaling over $15,000.

The first purchase, requested by Hirsch, was for funds for the renewal of a contract with Boston-headquartered Public Consulting Group Inc. (PCG), in the amount of $34,657. The consulting firm provides software management solutions for several WCPS annual services subscriptions, including for the standard Section 504 process, special education Medicaid documentation and billing programs, IEP document translation, EDPlan Health, and EDPlan Parent Connect.

For instance, PCG’s process-driven Section 504 solution “not only provides for easy, compliant documentation but also offers a number of online time-saving tools to enhance plan management,” according to the board-approved contract.

The other board-approved software purchase for the 2022-2023 fiscal year totals $100,608.39 and covers two sole-source items: the GoGuardian Suite, which includes classroom monitoring, self-harm monitoring, Chromebook fleet management, and a web content filter, and Microsoft licensing.

“This software provides operational and instructional support for our students, staff, and teachers,” said WCPS Technology Director Timothy Grant, who added that the purchase will be funded
through local technology funds and the Virginia Public School Authority Technology grant.

Sodexo contracts
Two other noteworthy School Board approvals amended a WCPS Food Services contract for school year 2022-2023 with Sodexo America LLC and revised and updated the WCPS custodial operations contract with Sodexo Operations LLC.

The School Board on June 18, 2019, entered into an agreement with Sodexo America to manage WCPS Food Services. The agreement contains a clause that allows the contract to be renewed annually for four additional one-year periods upon the mutual consent of both parties, Smith explained.

Amendments also may be made if both parties are in mutual agreement, and Smith proposed an amendment to the contract for the 2022-2023 school year so that WCPS may be entered into the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows schools to serve enrolled students free breakfast and lunch without collecting household applications.

Schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a federal formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals that are based on their participation in other specific programs, such as the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), which both serve low-income families. This number is called the Identified Student Percentage (ISP).

“VDOE’s Office of School Nutrition Programs is recommending sites that have an ISP of 40 percent or higher to enter the CEP program,” Smith (above) said. WCPS is able to qualify all nine school sites as being CEP-eligible because it has an ISP average of 41 percent, he said.

Meanwhile, Sodexo currently has a $72,750 guaranteed return annually under its contract with WCPS. Smith said that the amendment would waive that guaranteed return for one year so that the school district could enter CEP on a trial basis “because both parties understand that the dollars may not be there to meet this guaranteed return,” he said.

The School Board agreed and approved WCPS entering the CEP based on the overall average ISP; approved amendment 6 with Sodexo America to waive the $72,750 guaranteed return for a one-year period from July 6, 2022, to June 30, 2023; and authorized the superintendent to sign the Sodexo Food Service amendment and accept any administrative (non-material) changes as required by VDOE.

The board also approved the superintendent signing an amendment to the custodial operations agreement WCPS has with Sodexo Operations that will allow Sodexo employees working in WCPS facilities to get their one-time bonuses approved by the board for all WCPS employees who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Click here to watch the School Board’s July 6 meeting.