Butler Area School District will go through the process of reviewing food service management companies to serve its schools, as is standard procedure every five years.

Superintendent Brian White said at Monday's meeting of the district's Committee of the Whole that the district was supposed to begin the process last year. The state Department of Education extended the deadline one year because of the coronavirus pandemic, seeing that “it's a pretty involved process,” according to White.

The district will form a committee of at least three people who will evaluate the needs of the district and compare those needs to the received proposals for service. The committee can include school board members, but has to also include at least one outside member, White clarified.

Heather Bonzo, director of business services at the school district, said the committee plays a major role in outlining the needs of the school district and reviewing proposals once received.

“They are responsible for awarding the points for the proposals and making written and objective evaluations and recommendations,” she said. “They also are involved in a lot of the process along the way.”

Butler Area School District currently employs the Nutrition Group, based in Irwin, as its food services manager.

Following the formation of the committee, the district will have until July 1 to finish the process and have a contractor selected.

The state's recommended timeline for the process suggests that a school district begin advertising requests for proposals in January and February. Bonzo said Butler is already in the midst of the process, and should be on track with that timeline.

“We do have to create menus that have to be turned in as part of the ... process,” she said. “We also have to create bid protest procedures, which I have already done and are on solicitor review.”