It’s just one effort to help make up a deficit and be independent of district subsidy West Milford The cafeteria workers throughout the West Milford School District have voted to freeze their salaries for the current year. This comes after the workers had negotiated a 2 percent pay increase for each of three years beginning last school year and continuing through 2010-11, according to Supervisor Sharon Sieber. What is also happening is a state mandate that requires school cafeterias to be financially self-sufficient at a time when many of them are losing revenue. The pay freeze is one way the workers are trying to save money in their budget. “Last year the state said cafeterias shall not be funded by the general fund,” said Sieber. That means the money coming in to the cafeteria must cover all salaries, insurance, food, equipment and repairs. If that’s not done, the fear is the district might have to oursource the department. And no one wants that. It’s the economy The economy has pushed more and more families to brown bag it.’ That includes teachers too. “We’ve had to shut down the teachers lines in the high school and Macopin,” she added. And, while many families have dodged the tough economic times or at least have been able to get by, there are many more who aren’t doing as well. “My job is to feed these children,” said Sieber. “I am their advocate.” There are times when kids come in without their lunch money. The workers feed the kids and try to get the money back but they aren’t always successful. “We think all these children come here from warm and fuzzy homes,” Sieber said. “Not always.” Sieber doesn’t see that as a problem though. “I’ve worked here a very long time and can say with conviction this is a great place to work. The day-to-day compassion to help these children is totally and completely amazing.” With the increase in energy costs, food prices have risen as well. And enrollment is down, especially in the elementary grades. All of these things have added to the deficit. What they make “Cafeteria workers are the lowest paid workers in the district,” said Midge Touw, a West Milford school board member, at a recent meeting. “They are so afraid of losing their jobs they voted for a pay freeze. They’re concerned about taking a pay freeze and the administrators get 3 percent. I feel like it’s holding a gun to their head.” The administration did not ask the workers to take the freeze. That is confirmed by both the superintendent of schools, Bernice Colefield, and Sieber. “We openly went into a pay freeze,” said Sieber. And the vote was unanimous, she added. Her staff members make anywhere from $9.50 per hour for a kitchen worker up to $18.56 per hour for an elementary school cook manager. Macopin and the high school cook managers make a little more, Sieber said. Sieber herself is considered administration so her contract is separate from that of the cafeteria workers. She was entitled to a 3 percent raise this year but, in solidarity with her workers, she is not taking it. “I wanted to support my workers,” she said. “We are a team.” What they are doing to make this work The district’s business administrator, Steve Cea, explained that the county superintendent will give the district time if they see that there are steps in place to rectify the deficit. Three years ago, the cafeteria system had a $35,000 deficit. Two years ago it grew to $75,000. Last year, it was $100,000. “So we weren’t going in the right direction,” Cea said. What they’ve done is make changes in several areas. The district lost one cafeteria employee and reallocated others. That saved $33,000 in the budget. The prices have gone up too. Now lunch at an elementary school will cost $2.75 each day; at Macopin the cost is $3; and in the high school, it’s $3.25. That is expected to bring in an additional $40,000 this year. Even changing the milk vendor is saving the district $9,000. The salary freeze adds another $9,500 to the pot. “The increase in revenue and reduction in expenses shows we’re making progress,” said Cea. Diversify The 35-member cafeteria staff certainly gets an “A” for effort. Sieber said they have opened up their catering business to include the public instead of just school functions. So that next party you are planning? Think of the school cafeteria for catering. “We do a fantastic job,” she said. “But it’s hard to compete with the outside world.”