Board of Education members listened to a presentation from Chartwells representatives, voted on a 15 cent lunch increase, and discussed transportation updates at their Tuesday, August 12 meeting.

Chartwells Area Director Jamie Davies and Chartwells Director of Dining Services John Morris delivered a year-end update on the food service provider and its developments in the past year, as well as how it engages students throughout the Newtown Public Schools District.

Davies said Chartwells operates what United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) refers to as a National School Lunch Program. This means their food abides by the rules and regulations set forth by the USDA, while the USDA provides Chartwells with funding in terms of reimbursements for their meals.

He said this means their menus are loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grain bread and pasta, designed to make up nutritious meals.

“Food is a part of everyone’s wellbeing, we want to have places where students go in the cafeteria to have high quality food, connect with one another,” Davies said.

This also follows Chartwells’ slogan of “serving up happy and healthy.” Not only does Chartwells want to drive healthy eating habits, Davies said, it also wants to foster happy experiences in the cafeteria for students of all ages.

Davies detailed how Chartwells’ goals align with those of Newtown Public Schools, aiming to serve local produce, provide nutritious meals, eliminate food waste, and work on composting efforts through the district.

“We’re continuously soliciting feedback from students, faculty, staff, as well as parents and the community because we want to make sure we’re providing the service and menus everyone wants,” Davies explained.

He went on to discuss Chartwells’ efforts to drive student participation and engagement as a way to inspire students to eat healthy and make educational choices. Davies also said that they want to accommodate any and all dietary restrictions, working closely with nurses and the family of those students.

For specific ways Chartwells drives participation, Davies said they host fun days such as “Taco Day” to provide something new and exciting for students.

Morris highlighted Tasty Tuesday, held during the district’s Wellness Week, where over 3,500 dairy-free smoothie samples were served. All the smoothie samples, he said, were made with fresh fruits and allergen-free chocolate chips.

Davies said Chartwells has other efforts for student engagement from Global Eats, where they introduce students to different cuisine all over the world, and Mood Boost, a program primarily for elementary schools that matches food to how students feel and gives them a prize for eating nutritionally well.

“We’ve been honored to be part of the community,” Davies said. “It’s been a great partnership and we’re looking forward to the upcoming year and the years to come.”

Lunch Increase, Bus Tracking App

BOE members unanimously voted to increase the district’s lunch prices by 15 cents across the board.

This results in the following increases: $3.10 to $3.25 for the elementary schools, $3.35 to $3.50 for the intermediate and the middle school, and $3.60 to $3.75 for the high school.

Middle school and high school breakfast would go from $2.45 to $2.60. The high school also has a plan for the premium stations, raising their price from $4.60 to $4.75.

Newtown Public Schools has not had an increase in those prices since 2019.

The increase was first discussed by the BOE’s CIP/Facilities/Finance (CFF) Subcommittee on July 21. At that meeting, Director of Business and Finance Tanja Gouveia said the State of Connecticut sends out a national average for lunch prices every year. Districts are supposed to be within 15 cents of this average.

The national average for lunch prices is $4.01, according to Gouveia.

“We haven’t had an increase since 2019, so it’s been awhile. And there’s been higher costs in food, labor, and product, so I feel like it’s time,” Gouveia explained.

Superintendent of Schools Anne Uberti said that the district, in partnership with All-Star Transportation, will be rolling out an app that monitors buses in real-time for the new school year.

The app, called Stopfinder, provides a secure parent engagement and school bus tracking tool for parents to have real-time updates on their children’s bus location and estimated arrival time.

While Stopfinder is available to parents, parents can add users. Uberti said this means parents of older students who may be home alone and need to track their own bus before going to the bus stop will be able to do so, as well.

“I’ve already received a number of emails ... that parents are very happy about this. This was something they really wanted to see,” Uberti said.

More information, including instructions on how to get started, will be shared in the following weeks. However, the app will be available to use in time for the first day of the 2025-26 school year, set for Monday, August 25.

Public Participation

Newtown Action Alliance (NAA) members attended the meeting regarding the BOE’s 5-2 vote to accept a gift from the Sandy Hook School Foundation for a weapons detection system at Newtown High School. The vote and discussion around the gift occurred during the BOE’s July 8 meeting.

The BOE accepted the gift depending on several aspects: Uberti will present additional information on the potential project’s implementation plan during the BOE’s October 7 meeting, where BOE members can review the findings and vote on it again.

BOE members also wanted a reasonable amount of input and feedback from the public on the donation.

NAA member Matt Holden and Junior Newtown Action Alliance member Charlotte Foley spoke on the issue, sharing their concerns about the potential adoption and installation of the weapons detection system, and also ways they believe the funds can be better spent to help students and staff at the school.

Their concerns were also co-signed by current Newtown High School students who were in the audience, as well as several Sandy Hook survivors who were unable to attend the meeting, according to Holden.

Holden, who is also a Sandy Hook survivor, asked BOE what the system would actually do to make the high school safer. Even if a potential shooter was unable to enter the school at all, Holden said they could still wreak havoc from outside the building.

He also said reports from the Secret Service show that 76 percent of school shooters get their guns from their homes and relatives.

“And legally and morally, it’s really the parent’s responsibility that any firearms in the house are locked up according to state law,” Holden said.

He added that one solution to solve this issue, rather than installing a detection system, would be to potentially buy and give out safe storage devices to families in the district. This would ensure their weapons are safely locked up at home.

Holden also said they could give out information regarding safe storage to families to make sure everyone is aware of the dangers guns pose when not locked safely.

Holden and Foley said they fear the potential negative impact the detection system would have on the mental health of students.

Foley, a rising sophomore at NHS, said she knows the intention is to protect students like her, but also knows that not all protection looks the same.

“For me, walking through a metal detector every morning would not feel like safety, it would feel like a constant reminder of danger. It would feel like starting every day with the message: You are not safe here,” Foley said.

She said they have worked so hard as students and as a community to build a place where they can breathe, learn, and feel whole again.

Putting metal detectors at the high school’s doors, she said, chips away at that progress. Foley noted that Newtown is not a place plagued by daily violence, and that they already have strong security measures, armed security, locked doors, cameras, and more to protect them.

“It replaces the warmth of a school welcome with the cold beep of a machine. It tells us that we are suspects before we are students,” Foley said.

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.