BUTLER TWP — The Butler School Board will retain its food service workers, but has turned to a private management company to run the operation.

The board agreed to a 5-year contract with Nutrition Group of Irwin to manage the district’s food service.

The food service workers will continue to work under a union contract.

The 55 workers belong to the Butler Area School District Food Service Employees, which is affiliated with Pennsylvania State Education Association.

The move eliminates five management positions: the food service supervisor, office manager, senior high school manager, intermediate high school manager and the middle school manager.

The board approved an agreement with James Pritchard, the former food service supervisor, due to the “unique situation and the lateness of the contract,” King said.

Ultimately, Pritchard is not eligible for retirement benefits, but will receive payment for 41 vacation days he was unable to take, roughly $10,000, King said. Pritchard also will receive two months of health insurance after termination.

By switching the management services to the Nutrition Group, the district is guaranteed an $85,000 payout after the first year and will at least break-even during years two to five, according to district solicitor Tom King. Had the board voted to move both management and staffing to the Nutrition Group, the first-year payout would have been $150,000.

That five-year contract opens up again for renewal each year, King said.

The Nutrition Group, which serves the Mars, South Butler and Freeport school districts, submitted a plan for Butler to include more choices, upgrade food at the elementary schools, and use student surveys to improve meal menus.

Nutrition’s proposal estimates the cost of the program would be about $2.4 million.

The lunch prices will increase at the elementary schools from $2.10 to $2.25; and at its secondary schools from $2.35 to $2.50. Breakfast prices will increase from $1 to $1.25 at the elementary and secondary schools.

Previously, the board was in favor of moving both the management and the staffing to the Nutrition Group, according to board member John Conrad.

However, the food service workers remain employees of the district, and future employees will be acquired by the Nutrition Group through attrition.

The district’s food service workers had been working under an expired contract since June 2015.

Along with the decision to keep the food service workers, the board approved a new three-year contract, calling for wage increases of 30 cents per hour each year. The union still has to vote on the contract, which is expected on July 6.

The outsourcing of food service was considered because of lagging student participation and the in-house program lost nearly $700,000 since the 2008-09 school year.

But some board members see the current solution as one that helps to relieve the financial stress while still keeping current employees happy.

Board member Al Vavro said, “It’s a very difficult situation and I think we came to a very mutually agreeable solution.”

King, who helps the district mediate contract negotiations, said that the decision was both responsible and fair.

“The board acted, I think, very prudently and timely to take this problem into account and try to stem it, which they have done,” King said. “They’ve also done it in a way that is fair to the ladies, who have to speak for themselves. But from my perspective, the board acted very responsibly. They could have taken the bigger number, the $150,000 guarantee. They didn’t.”

Board member Jennifer Cummings also thanked board member Suzie Bradrick for her diligence with working toward a solution that allows the current employees to stay with the district and still move the management over to the Nutrition Group.