Cafeteria food at Butler Area School District schools may taste different next year. The school board voted to change food service providers on Monday, May 13.

The board voted unanimously at a meeting to change food service providers from Aramark to Metz Culinary Management, effective next school year. The agreement between the district and Metz will be on a year-by-year basis.

Butler superintendent Brian White said a final decision came after the Food Service Management Committee did an “extensive” process to locate a new food service provider. To be considered, the provider is reviewed by the committee and must receive a evaluated score above 85% on a number of criteria, such as cost.

After evaluations, only two food service providers passed the 85% threshold.

“So we did the initial application, 85%, and then we sent the food service committee to visit two districts, with multiple schools each, to compare the two companies that we were considering,” White said.

Those who tried Metz’s food said it was apparent that the quality was significantly higher than its competition. The committee consisted of several members, including assistant superintendent Brian Slamecka and board member Gary Shingleton.

Even after the approval, a contract between the district and Metz will still need to be negotiated. Heather Bonzo, the district’s director of finance and operations, said the contract is fairly standard as it is supplied by the state. Then, the district’s solicitor will do a final review of the contract before it is adopted.

The contract is expected to be negotiated and finalized over the summer, Bonzo said. According to White, Metz will also give a presentation to the school board in the future.