Saugus holds off on awarding school lunch bid

SAUGUS-Superintendent Richard Langlois said he was all set to put forth a contract regarding a food service company for the School Department, but said instead he is going to wait.The issue regarding a food services contract came up during the board’s regular meeting Thursday. School Committee member Rick Doucette, who sits on the Food Services Subcommittee, said the reason for the mystery was simply that the committee wanted to leave the bid open for a little while longer to allow more people to comment.”It’s a big bid,” he said. “It’s a lot of money.”Langlois was set to award a one-year bid to Chartwell’s, which has run the program for the last several years. The recommendation included a one-year contract with a fixed management fee of $13,596 and a fixed administrative fee of $19,833.However, Doucette said a second company also entered an attractive bid. Finance Manager Richard Weeks put together an analysis comparing the two bids, which can be viewed at the Administration Building, Doucette said.Anyone wishing to comment on food issues with the schools or ask questions should call the administration office at 781-231-5000.”In the next two weeks we’ll sit down and look at it again,” Doucette said. “We’ll have a recommendation for the next meeting.”The committee’s next regular meeting is May 14.