MIFFLINTOWN - Christine Ammon, general manager of food services in the Juniata County School District, spoke at a Thursday meeting of the Juniata County School District Board of Directors.
Ammon said federal regulations require all district schools to meet a new set of nutritional standards. Improved school meals include age-appropriate calorie limits, larger servings of vegetables and fruits, a wider variety of vegetables, fat-free or one percent milk, more whole grains and less sodium.
Compliance with the new standards will yield a six-cent additional reimbursement for each reimbursable lunch during the 2012-2013 school year, Ammon said.
Similar to past years, reimbursable lunches are made up of five components: meat or meat alternative, grains, vegetables, fruits and milk. Students must take three of five components for their lunch to count as a reimbursable meal, Ammon said.
New regulations made changes to the calorie counts and servings of each category.
"The biggest change for us has been the protein," Ammon said.
Protein requirements are down by one ounce in all age categories compared to last year. Ammon said grain requirements have also gone down and half of the grains offered must be whole grain. On the other hand, vegetable and fruit requirements have increased. Vegetables are divided into sub-groups and must be offered in specific quantities every week. Ammon said whole fruits are also being offered this year. High school students can take up to two vegetable and two fruit choices at each meal.
Also during the meeting, the board approved opening an account at PNC Bank for the purpose of establishing procurement cards for day-to-day purchasing needs. Superintendent Richard Musselman said the cards allow the district to make purchases faster, but only with approved funds.
The procurement cards will be handled by the business office and can be used for construction projects, paying bills locally or purchasing classroom supplies. The district will be able to earn credit with their purchases. Musselman said some other districts are already earning about $60,000 per year on their cards.
In other new business, the board:
Approved the employment of Kelly Campagna as assistant principal of East Juniata High School, effective Oct. 22.
Approved M and J Paving, Jeffrey Rosenberry, Gerald S. Bryner, Jeff Frymoyer and Zimmerman's Excavation for snow removal services for the 2012-2013 school year.
Approved bills for payment and financial reports for September 2012.
Approved an amended contract with Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf for transportation services for the 2012-2013 school year at a rate of $64 round trip per student, for a total of eight trips. This replaced a contract for transportation services at a rate of $2,500 per student pet year.
Approved the termination of the district's 2012-2013 transportation contract with Steve Musser, effective Oct. 22.
Approved elimination of Bus Route 29 (Liberty Valley Transport) by transferring stops one to three to Bus Route 28 and moving stops four and five to Bus Route 18, effective Oct. 22. The change saves $28,443.50.
Approved transferring Bus Routes one to 40 to Liberty Valley Transport, effective Oct. 22.
Accepted the donation of free vision screenings for Lack-Tuscarora Elementary School students from Walmart Vision Center.
Approved the resignation of Caren C. Mann, Tuscarora Junior High School guidance counselor, effective Oct. 26, and approved the transfer of Kathleen D. Durst, East Juniata High School learning support teacher, to the vacated position.
Approved the resignation of Nichole L. Barner, East Juniata High School secretary, effective Oct. 19.
Approved Thomas R. Brotzman, Tobi A. Dowling and Cheyene R. Singiser as substitute paraprofessionals, Cathleen Grix as a substitute secretary, Joseph A Brubaker as a substitute teacher and Georgean E. Leith as a substitute teacher and substitute paraprofessional.
Established two Level III paraprofessional positions at Tuscarora Valley Elementary School and one Level III paraprofessional position at Juniata High School, and authorized the administration to reinstate furloughed paraprofessionals to fill the positions.
Approved the removal of Tara E. Grove from the paraprofessional substitute and furlough list.
Approved Rita A. Dobozynski as a translator/interpreter at an hourly rate of $15. Musselman said the position is offered as needed for translating meetings for parents or proofreading documents in other languages.
Approved Marc Sperlich as a long-term substitute mathematics teacher at East Juniata high School, effective Nov. 2.
Approved Shawn C. Trout as an East Juniata High School learning support teacher. Trout replaces Kathleen Durst.
Approved Dianne R. Kerstetter as a secretary at East Juniata High School.
