Loss of food vendor
The Manhattan-Ogden school district has lost its largest food vendor.
That’s according to assistant superintendent Eric Reid, who told the school board Wednesday that the vendor informed the district just last week that it would be canceling its contract.
The vendor, Sysco, which is a wholesale food distributor, supplied about 80 percent of the district’s food supplies. According to Reid, Sysco attributed the canceled contract to supply chain issues stemming from staffing shortages.
Reid says child nutrition director Stephanie Smith has been working to find alternative solutions until other vendors can be found, however the district may be limited in what it can get in the meantime.
As for whether parents who are able should start sending their kids to school with sack lunches, Reid said they are not yet to that point but to stay tuned.
Other challenges for this year
With the fall semester under way for Manhattan-Ogden schools, Reid says two other challenges the district will face this year are staffing and materials.
He says that, like many other organizations, USD 383 is currently working through staffing shortages in multiple areas.
As for materials, Reid says construction companies working on local schools are having trouble getting supplies, which is causing delays for several projects.
Among the projects experiencing delays are the Amanda Arnold Elementary playground and roofing improvements at Anthony Middle School.
Preliminary enrollment
The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 school board went over preliminary enrollment numbers during its meeting Wednesday.
As of the first day of school, the district has 6,192 enrolled students, which is slightly higher than last year’s September 21 figure of 6,156.
The district currently has 2,915 elementary school students, 1,461 middle school students and 1,816 high school students.
The official enrollment number for the fall semester won’t be available until September.
Assistant superintend Eric Reid says he expects an increase in enrollment between now and then since some students have not yet started school.
Overall enrollment is slightly higher than last year, however, elementary school numbers are down.
Reid says that while this is partly due to the loss of about 300 students during the previous school year, it can also be attributed to the transition of sixth graders to the middle school level.
