Detroit ends food service contract
May 9, 2008 12:21 PM
The Detroit school board has decided to let its contract with Aramark
Educational Services to expire on June 30. Aramark has managed the $44-million
food-services operation since 2001. The district must now find a company to
manage food operations for summer school. The board also voted to hire an
executive director of food services. The vote came after at least a year of
lobbying and protests by union employees, who argued that district employees
could do a better and cheaper job of running the food services.
Click here to read The
Detroit Free Press article.
EARLIER: The Detroit school board has taken the first step toward getting rid
of the company that has run the district's food services for the past seven
years. A subcommittee has recommended terminating the contract of Aramark
Educational Services LLC. The district privatized food services in June 2001,
but over the past year, some have protested the quality and costs associated
with the contract.
Click here to read
The Detroit Free Press article.
FROM APRIL 2008: Michigan officials who initially questioned the legality of $1.6
million in fees Detroit Public Schools had paid for food services have
now concluded the fees are within the law. The Michigan Department of Education
concluded that after further review, procurement fees charged over two years by
food services manager Aramark Educational Services LLC met federal standards.
Click here to read
The Detroit Free Press article.
FROM MARCH 2008: Detroit Public Schools officials say they will review the district's
contract and relationship with Aramark Educational Services after allegations
surfaced that the school system has paid the company at least $1.6 million in
questionable fees.
Click here to read The
Detroit Free Press article.
FEBRUARY 2008: The food contractor for Detroit public schools pocketed rebates and
discounts that should have been given back to the district and charged $1.6
million for unclear reasons, according to records obtained by the Detroit
Free Press. The state has declared the "procurement fees" from
Aramark Educational Services LLC as "unallowable" and in violation of
law for how federal hot-lunch money is to be used.
Click
here to read The Detroit Free Press article.
