According to respondents to the Mackinac Center’s 2007 summer survey, 29.7 percent (164 districts) reported contracting for food services to some degree. That represents a 3.6 percent (six districts) increase in the contracting rate over 2006 (see Graphic 5). Food service privatization remains the most popular service for districts to outsource; however, it is not the fastest growing arena (see "Custodial Privatization").
Graphic 5
Graphic 6 shows the districts that are new to food service contracting in the Mackinac Center survey.vi
Graphic 6
Conventional Michigan School Districts New to the Annual Survey's List of Districts Contracting for Food Services
District |
County |
Arenac Eastern School District |
Arenac |
Decatur Public Schools |
Van Buren |
Dryden Community Schools |
Lapeer |
Fitzgerald Public Schools |
Macomb |
Homer Community Schools |
Calhoun |
Inland Lake Schools |
Cheboygan |
L’Anse Creuse Public Schools |
Macomb |
Lansing School District |
Ingham |
Mancelona Public Schools |
Antrim |
Mattawan Consolidated School |
Van Buren |
Midland Public Schools |
Midland |
Oakridge Public Schools |
Muskegon |
Reese Public Schools |
Tuscola |
Chartwells School Dining holds the vast majority of these contracts and has provided food management services to some Michigan school districts for more than 30 years.vii
Schools are increasingly asking FSMCs to provide the labor as well as the management as part of their contracts with the districts. For example, for the 2007-2008 school year, both the Lincoln Consolidated Schools and the Ann Arbor Public Schools voted to expand a contract already held with two FSMCs, respectively, for management of their food programs to include labor as well. In the coming school year the districts will no longer employ their own food service workers. The expansion of the Ann Arbor contract is expected to save the district an additional $400,000 annually, a little over $23.50 per student per year.[8]
vi This is not the net total for the increase in food service contracting because a total of seven districts brought their food service back in-house. See "Districts That Brought Their Services Back In-House" below for more details.
[vii] Please see the section "Competitive Contracting over Time" for more detail.