Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine whether District officials are ensuring that meals offered to students are nutritious and prepared in the most economical and productive manner possible for the period July 1, 2013 through January 16, 2015.

Background

The Trumansburg Central School District is located in the Towns of Enfield and Ulysses in Tompkins County; the Town of Covert in Seneca County; and the Town of Hector in Schuyler County. The District, which is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Education, operates three cafeterias, which are located in the high school, middle school and elementary school buildings. The District’s budgeted appropriations for the school lunch fund for the 2014-15 fiscal year are $514,510, funded primarily with federal and State aid and revenue from the sale of food to students and employees.

Key Findings

• The majority of the costs of producing a meal equivalent are driven primarily by the personal service costs and benefits provided to employees.
• Because it is not possible or practical for the District to achieve the industry standards by reducing staff or increasing sales by the amounts needed to reach the industry standards, it must consider adjusting multiple factors in order to move towards the meals per labor hour (MPLH) industry standards.

Key Recommendations

• Closely monitor cafeteria operational costs and, where possible, implement plans to control costs.
• Monitor the MPLH and consider taking measures to move toward the industry standard for MPLH.