Plymouth School Committee Approves Food Services Director Search with Aramark Backup Plan

District receives 30 applications for director position after evaluating both in-house leadership and outsourced management options following spring incident.

PLYMOUTH - August 4 - The Plymouth School Committee unanimously approved the administration's recommendation to offer the Food Services Director position to top candidates, with authorization to contract with Aramark Food Services as a backup plan if needed.

The decision comes after the district conducted parallel processes to evaluate both hiring an in-house director and contracting with external food service management companies. Superintendent Chris Campbell plans to extend a formal offer to the top candidate Tuesday morning.

"After a thorough review of both options, it's my recommendation that we proceed with hiring a new director of food services to lead our program for Plymouth Public Schools," Campbell said during the Aug. 4 virtual meeting.

The district received 30 applications for the director position, surprising administrators who initially worried about attracting qualified candidates during the summer hiring period. Two candidates rose to the top after a screening process that included food service staff, district administration, and School Committee member Paul Samargedlis.

"To our pleasant surprise, we received 30 applications for the position, many from highly experienced professionals with strong qualifications and excellent references," Campbell said.

The committee also authorized administration to initiate a one-year contract with Aramark Food Services if the top two director candidates decline their offers. Aramark emerged as the preferred vendor after the district's Request for Proposals process.

Three companies toured school kitchens and submitted proposals: Aramark, Chartwells, and Genuine Foods. All three received "highly advantageous" ratings, allowing evaluators to review their pricing proposals.

Aramark offered the highest financial guarantee at $770,094 annually, compared to Chartwells' $324,081 and Genuine Foods' $253,027. The company promises to provide an experienced food service director and assistant director, along with off-site support staff for purchasing and data tracking.

"They said they have a decorated chef of high caliber who has won numerous Aramark awards and served as a food service director for at least seven years, and she is local to the area," said Dr. Adam Blaisdell, who led the RFP evaluation process.

The dual approach stems from an incident that occurred during the spring, prompting the district to reassess its food service leadership structure. School Committee member Robert Morgan questioned what new monitoring processes would be implemented with an in-house director.

"One of the reasons we consider an outside firm is they have different controls and whatnot over the management and transparency of the program," Morgan said, referencing the spring incident.

Campbell assured the committee that new protocols would include inventory software for equipment, enhanced purchasing procedures, and improved communication systems. The district currently undergoes an internal controls audit that will provide additional recommendations.

"We've already started doing, using an inventory software for equipment. We'd also have a lot of redundancies in place, looking at our protocols for our inventory, for our purchasing," Campbell said.

Samargedlis, who participated in both the RFP evaluation and candidate interviews, supported the administration's preference for hiring internally. He noted that many candidates viewed the Plymouth position as a career advancement opportunity.

"Seeing the candidates that made it to those final interviews and Chris had mentioned the 30 that came out, you know, it really says something about the desire to have folks wanting to join our community," Samargedlis said.

He emphasized the benefits of internal leadership over outsourcing when possible, citing the importance of direct communication between administration and staff.

"If you can, you know, build something internally and grow it from there and have it be a foundation and then build it on trust and efficiency, it's better all around," Samargedlis said.

School Committee member Ashley Shaw expressed concerns about long-term costs associated with third-party contractors, drawing comparisons to the district's transportation services. However, she supported the administration's preference for hiring an in-house director.

"Any time we're reliant on a third party, it doesn't end up financially well for us in general," Shaw said. "Usually, there is a higher cost that's going to come down the road with third parties."

If the district proceeds with Aramark, the company would implement participation tracking through a dashboard system showing rates at each school. The guarantee amount reflects projected increases in breakfast and lunch participation based on data from similar districts.

"The rates are based on data from past performances in other districts. One of the comments they talked about was they're not taking food off the plate or decreasing food quality because you can't build participation rates this way," Blaisdell explained.

Campbell emphasized that food service staff played active roles in both evaluation processes, providing valuable insights for the decision-making process. The superintendent expressed confidence in either option while maintaining a clear preference for internal hiring.

"I do feel confident that having gone through this extensive process, both for the candidate screening and interviews and the RFP process, we have some good choices here," Campbell said.

Full meeting available via The Local Seen.