Northborough School Committee Unanimously Renews Whitson's Food Services Contract for Year Two

NORTHBOROUGH — May 6, 2026 — Northborough School Committee renews Whitson's food contract despite $52,500 year-to-date loss. The committee voted 5-0 at its May 6 meeting to approve a second year with Whitson's Culinary Group for 2026-2027, accepting a 3.9 percent fee increase tied to the Consumer Price Index, after finance officials reported that a one-time decision to cover food services employee health insurance — roughly $60,700 — was the single largest driver of the program's deficit through March. A contractual guarantee requires Whitson's to make the district whole if the program does not finish fiscal year 2026 with a surplus of at least $5,477. Members demanded improvement on food quality consistency, with one member warning, "if we're still having the same quality conversation next year, we're not" renewing. Separately, the committee was told that the Peasley Building Committee must choose a preferred schematic option — from eight remaining alternatives ranging from new builds to renovations under both a neighborhood-school and a consolidation model — by the second or third week of June for submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority, with a community survey sitting at roughly 450 responses against a target of 1,500. The district also received $317,797 in Circuit Breaker Extraordinary Relief funding after special education costs for fiscal year 2026 came in 25 percent above fiscal year 2025 levels.