Purpose of Audit

The purpose of our audit was to determine if the District was effectively managing cafeteria operations for the period July 1, 2014 through March 31, 2016.

Background

The West Babylon Union Free School District is located in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County and is governed by an elected nine-member Board of Education. The District operates seven cafeterias located in the high school, junior high school and five elementary schools, which offer breakfast, lunch and à la carte foods to approximately 4,000 students and 1,050 employees. Budgeted appropriations for the for the school lunch fund for the 2015-16 fiscal year totaled approximately $1.7 million.

Key Findings

• Meals cost more to prepare than the revenue generated by the meal sales.
• School lunch productivity is lower than industry standards.

Key Recommendations

• Closely monitor cafeteria operating costs and, where possible, continue to implement plans to increase student participation and control food costs, materials, labor and benefits.
• Monitor the number of meals produced divided by staffing hours and consider taking measures to move toward the industry standard.