ERIC ED449579: South Carolina School Food Service Programs: A Study To Determine Fiscal Efficiency.

99 Pages·2000·1.4 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
EA 030 867
ED 449 579
Fulmer, Karl E.; Swann, John M.; Taylor, Susan L.
AUTHOR
South Carolina School Food Service Programs: A Study To
TITLE
Determine Fiscal Efficiency.
2000-00-00
PUB DATE
97p.; Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the South
NOTE
Carolina Educators for the Practical Use of Research (12th,
February 10-11, 2000); the Southeastern Association of
School Business Officials Conference (May 3-6, 2000); and
the South Carolina Association of School Business Officials
Fall Conference (October 25-27, 2000).
Speeches/Meeting Papers (150)
Evaluative (142)
Reports
PUB TYPE
MF01/PC04 Plus Postage.
EDRS PRICE
*Breakfast Programs; *Economic Factors; Elementary Secondary
DESCRIPTORS
Education; *Food Standards; *Lunch Programs; Public Schools;
*Salaries
South Carolina
IDENTIFIERS
ABSTRACT
This report identifies those qualities and characteristics
that are usually associated with efficiently and effectively operated school
food-service programs. Data were extracted from district audit reports filed
with the South Carolina State Department of Education; from the South
Carolina Department of Education Office of School Food-services; Lunch and
Breakfast Average Daily Participation Reports for 1996-97 and 1997-98; and
from South Carolina Education Profiles, 1997 and 998. The study found a
strong positive relationship between the percentage of students qualifying
for free/reduced lunch, breakfast-program participation, and capital-outlay
expenditures. Revenue generated through special sales was found to improve
the fiscal efficiency of food-service programs significantly, particularly if
canteen sales were included in food-service revenues. Also, the percentage of
revenue devoted to salaries was a significant predictor of fiscal efficiency
for self-managed programs, but not for programs operated by food-service
management companies where management fees are not considered salary.
Self-operated programs were likely to have better student participation, have
greater retained earnings, and spend more money for capital outlay than
food-service-management-operated programs. District-managed programs were
more likely to pay greater salaries to food-service workers and use more
labor hours to produce the student meals served. (Contains 25 references.)
(DFR)
Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made
from the original document.
SOUTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS:
A STUDY TO DETERMINE FISCAL EFFICIENCY
Presented at
South Carolina Educators for the Practical Use of Research
12th Annual Conference
February 10-11, 2000
Southeastern Association of School Business Officials Conference
May 3-6, 2000
South Carolina Association of School Business Officials Fall Conference
October 25-27, 2000
PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND
DISSEMINATE THIS MATERIAL HAS
BEEN GRANTED BY
TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
1
Prepared by
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Karl E. Fulmer, Ed.D
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION
CENTER (ERIC)
John M. Swann
This document has been reproduced as
received from the person or organization
Susan L. Taylor
originating it.
Minor changes have been made to
improve reproduction quality.
BEST COPY AVAILABLE
Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
official OERI position or policy.
Abstract
South Carolina School Food Service Programs: A Study to Determine Fiscal
reports an exhaustive study to determine those qualities and
Efficiency
characteristics that are usually associated with efficient and effectively operated
Data for the study were extracted from district
school food service programs.
audit reports filed with the South Carolina State Department of Education for all
from the South Carolina Department of
school districts in South Carolina;
Education Office of School Food Services, Lunch and Breakfast Average Daily
Participation Reports for 1996-97 and 1997-98; and from South Carolina
Education Profiles, 1997 and 1998.
The study found a strong positive relationship between the percentage of
students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, breakfast program participation, and
capital outlay expenditures. Revenue generated through special sales was found
to significantly improve the fiscal efficiency of food service programs, particularly
if canteen sales were included in food service revenues. Also, the percentage of
revenue devoted to salaries was a significant predictor of fiscal efficiency for self-
managed programs but not for food service management company operated
Of particular
programs where management fees are not considered salary.
the study were recommendations included
for
staffing
school
interest
in
cafeterias based on meals per labor hour.
As a result of the study, it was determined that self-operated programs were
likely to have better student participation, have greater retained earnings, and
spend more money for capital outlay than food service management operated
programs. The study also found that district managed programs were more likely
to pay greater salaries to food service workers and use more labor hours to
produce the student meals served.
3
CHAPTER I
INVESTIGATION
THE NATURE OF THE
Introduction
Carolina public schools that are operated
Unlike other programs in South
food service
each district's general operation, the
and financed as a part of
funds are accounted for
"stand alone business." The
program is operated as a
finance the food service operation
fund and are expected to
as an enterprise
A district may be
general fund.
district's
without assistance from the
and building space utilization through
compensated for the cost of equipment
general fund at
food service fund to the district's
indirect cost transfers from the
operation.
the end of each fiscal year of
-Statement of the Problem
service programs to produce sufficient
School districts should expect food
the
Consequently, administrators need to assess
income to pay indirect costs.
to determine those factors related
current status of their food service programs
If
indirect costs.
to provide for full payment of
to making the changes necessary
this finding needs to be
is already relatively efficient,
a present operation
4
2
affirmed. Some research suggests that when self-operated programs are not as
help
efficient as they should be, food service management companies can
districts improve their operations. However, contracting to a private company the
management of a historically self-operated food service program is a significant
decision that must not be made without substantial data to support the change.
compare district managed programs
At present insufficient data are available to
Additional
and programs managed by food service management companies.
study needs to be completed to determine which programs achieve a greater
level of financial efficiency.
A food service program must operate with a high degree of efficiency if it
The effort to achieve efficiency of the food service
is to pay indirect costs.
operation must be accomplished without sacrificing the quality or nutritional value
In addition, the program must continue to be
of the meals served to students.
responsive to the educational objectives of the district, must accommodate the
meal expectations of the community, and must operate within the framework of
the academic schedules at each school.
If efficiency is to be judged by the bottom line comparison of revenues
received to expenditures expended, then this judgement must be made in
comparison to what other food service operations are achieving when all factors
In the absence of such comparison, there is no
are taken into consideration.
benchmark from which to judge. Thus, this study must examine completely each
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and make careful comparisons in order
food service program in South Carolina
operation.
to evaluate the relative efficiency of each
of the present study is to
In view of the above discussion, the purpose
in South Carolina as
examine the efficiency of each food service program
South Carolina, including both self-
compared to other food service programs in
by food service management
operated programs and programs managed
least a partial answer to the
companies. The study was designed to provide at
associated with and/or significantly
following question: What characteristics are
food service programs in South
impact the fiscal efficiency of public school
Carolina?
will be tested:
To answer this question the following hypotheses
Hypothesis No. 1.
reduced lunch will
The percentage of students approved for free or
efficiency of school food service
have no significant impact upon the fiscal
operations.
Hypothesis No. 2.
sales will have
The percentage of total student sales that are special
efficiency of school food service operations.
no significant impact upon the fiscal
Hypothesis No. 3.
have no significant
The percentage of lunch daily participation will
operations.
impact upon the fiscal efficiency of school food service
4
Hypothesis No. 4.
daily participation will have no significant
The percentage of breakfast
of school food service operations.
impact upon the fiscal efficiency
Hypothesis No. 5.
within a school district will have no
The average size of schools
efficiency of school food service operations.
significant impact upon the fiscal
Hypothesis No. 6.
devoted to salary will have no
The percentage of total revenues
operations.
efficiency of school food service
significant impact upon the fiscal
Hypothesis No. 7.
the purchase of
revenues devoted to
The percentage of total
school food
impact upon the fiscal efficiency of
equipment will have no significant
service operations.
Hypothesis No. 8.
received from federal sources will
The percentage of total revenues
food service
the fiscal efficiency of school
have no significant impact upon
operations.
Hypothesis No. 9.
significant impact upon the
Allowable menu patterns will have no
service operations.
fiscal efficiency of school food
Hypothesis No. 10.
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5
1
cooperatives will have no significant
The utilization of purchasing
of school food service operations.
impact upon the fiscal efficiency
Hypothesis No. 11.
difference in fiscal efficiency between
There Will be no significant
and district food service programs
district self-operated food service programs
management companies.
operated by school food service
Significance of the Study
districts have a long history of providing
South Carolina public school
1
that
students through self-operated programs
quality meals that are nutritious to
3
have
by their communities. These programs
have always been well received
order to
educational schedules and programs in
been responsive to the schools'
schools'
possible with as much concern for the
assist wherever and whenever
for the need to be entirely self-supporting.
programs and activities as
make
services programs are not allowed to
In South Carolina, school food
to exceed the cost
restricted to an operating balance not
a profit. They are also
lunch pricing
has strong implications both for
of operation for three months. This
F'T
and for motivation for fiscal efficiency.
4
to
their current food service operation
As an administration reviews
be
long-standing practices may have to
evaluate its fiscal efficiency, some
For example,
competitive.
significantly changed to make the program more
1
6
transportation
currently work with the district
some food service programs
each day to
drivers secure sufficient working hours
programs to help school bus
part of
school food service program then must pay
qualify for fringe benefits. The
typically work under the
School food service managers
these fringe benefits.
each school, a practice that helps to ensure
supervision of school principals at
each
be responsive to the unique programs at
that the food service program will
the efficiency of the food service program.
school, at times to the expense of
the
others that are likely to be identified in
These practices, along with many
Also, this study may give some
change.
study, could be recommended for
the food service programs more efficient
fI
insight into how the objective to make
major attributes of the
and, at the same time, keep the
can be accomplished
received
the hallmark of a historically well
current programs that have been
community program.
Delimitations of the Study
school food service programs in South
The study was restricted to the
for the 1996-97 and 1997-98 fiscal years.
Carolina and their financial operation
each school district in South Carolina were
Audited financial statements from
of
the South Carolina State Department
obtained from audit reports filed with
all school districts are required by
Education. These data were used because
each
of Education to file by December 31
the South Carolina State Department
i
9
7
The
by an independent audit firm.
their finances completed
year, an audit of
State Department of
reported using South Carolina
audit must be conducted and
accounting
governmental
accepted
generally
and
guidelines
Education
do so
directly from school districts, since to
standards. No data were secured
analyzed in a comparable way.
would not ensure data reported or
Line per
variable named BLPSTU (Bottom
From the financial data a
difference between total
This variable reflected the
Student) was derived.
excluding fringe benefits
total expenditures (ETOT),
revenue (RTOT) and
35th day enrollment. Fringe
divided by the district's
expenditures and transfers,
expenditures may be
excluded because these
benefits and transfers were
35th day enrollment is
district to district. A district's
applied in different ways from
Once a
for all schools in South Carolina.
the unduplicated student enrollment
in South Carolina,
school for 35 consecutive days
student has been enrolled in a
school for the entire year
have been enrolled in that
the student is considered to
35th day enrollment
South Carolina school for
and may not be counted in another
does not measure
and transfers were excluded,
data. BLPSTU, because fringe
in the food service program.
a district's profit or loss
;
using
in this study was presented
Much of the graphic information
;71
patterns of correlation. However,
Scatterplots were used to show
scatterplots.
implying causality.
correlation should not be interpreted as
Orangeburg County during fiscal
The eight school districts that made up
The
in fiscal year 1998.
consolidated into three districts
year 1997 were