Panther Valley proposes cafeteria upgrade
Students pass through the lunch line at Panther Valley High School. School district officials want to update the cafeteria, which is laid out much like it was in the 1970s. Scan this photo with the Prindeo app for a video from the cafeteria. CHRIS REBER/TIMES NEWS
Panther Valley senior Tim Patton gets his lunch in the school’s cafeteria.
The kitchen at Panther Valley Junior-Senior High School looks a lot like it did back when it was built in the 1970s.
There have been some upgrades, but students still have to form a single line to get served.
School officials are hoping to change that with a $1.5 million renovation project, which will be funded largely through federal money the school receives for serving lunch.
“At the high school, the cafeteria is over 40 years old, so a lot of the equipment and the actual layout of the cafeteria, we want to upgrade,” said Kenneth Marx, the district’s business manager.
School board members will have to decide over the next two months whether to go ahead with the project if they want it completed over the summer break.
The proposed cafeteria project has two components. One is replacing all of the existing equipment in the kitchen and making HVAC improvements that will save energy, create space and make the kitchen more efficient.
The existing coolers, freezers, ovens and steamers will be replaced. That will create more space for food preparation.
The cafeteria serves about 600 students a day.
Laurie Mount, the cafeteria supervisor, said her staff makes do with the current kitchen, but sees the need for an upgrade.
“Just some general updating is really what this place does need,” Mount said.
The part that students will notice is the new serving line.
In the current cafeteria, there’s one door in, and one door out. Students sit down, then get called up to eat by grade. They plan on removing a wall that separates the kitchen from the cafeteria for more of a food court setup.
The new one would be horseshoe-shaped, so students could pick something and move on.
“You can get what you need and get out instead of waiting in a line,” Marx said.
The contractor for the project is Schneider Electric, which did a previous energy savings project at the high school that helped the district save about $100,000 on energy costs. Because it’s an energy savings project, no bids are necessary, Marx said.
It would bring the cafeteria in line with the district’s other kitchens — the intermediate school was built in 2007, and the elementary school was updated through a state grant a few years ago.
About two-thirds of the $1.5 million project will be financed through a loan. Payments will be made out of the district’s cafeteria account, which is funded largely through the federal government based on the number of meals served by the district. All students in the Panther Valley School District receive free lunch because of a federal program for districts of a certain poverty level.
That account cannot be used for building renovations, so about $250,000 of the project will be paid out of the general fund. But Marx said there is not expected to be an impact on the district’s tax rate.
The district hopes to complete the renovation during the summer vacation.
