High school stores expected to comply with regulations
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer
Freehold Regional High School District administrators expected to have a situation involving school stores resolved this week.

And by the start of the next school year a complete review of the operation of the school stores is expected to take place, according to Superintendent of Schools James Wasser. He said uniform procedures that will apply in all six FRHSD buildings will be developed.

The issue of what can be sold in the school stores and when became an issue at the FRHSD Board of Education meeting on Jan. 28. The meeting was held at the district's headquarters in Englishtown.

Carol Fox, the president of the Marlboro High School PTSO, said administrators shut down the PTSO's No. 1 fundraiser, the group's store at the high school. The Trading Post, as the store is known, has been in operation for about three years at Marlboro. The store sells items such as school supplies and snacks.

Business at the school store was brought to a halt recently because the sale of snacks during the time when lunch was being served conflicted with a federal law which prohibits competition with food sales in the cafeteria, according to district officials.

FRHSD Business Administrator Sean Boyce said representatives of Sodexho, which has a contract to provide food services in the district, brought the matter to his attention. The school district is guaranteed to receive a financial return of $145,910 from Sodexho during the 2007-08 school year.

Boyce said the matter is regulatory in nature and not a contractual issue between the school district and its food service supplier.

Wasser said administrators have no objection to the school stores and said on Feb. 1 that the issue would be resolved by this week.

"We did not shut down any school stores. We believe the school stores serve a purpose," Wasser said. "From my assessment there are two high schools which are misinformed, Marlboro and Colts Neck. It began with the prior administration of both schools. The former principals gave the parents too much latitude on what they could sell. There is to be no competitive food sales, but that does not mean they cannot sell other things. As long as it is not food and they have the approval of their principal, then it is permissible during lunch."

Boyce added, "From a compliance point of view we need to comply with the federal school nutrition programs. We do not have any discretion in this matter."

Members of the Marlboro and Colts Neck parent-teacher groups who were in attendance at the Jan. 28 board meeting were concerned that closing the school stores would have a significant negative impact on their fundraising efforts.

Wasser said the school stores will be permitted to operate in compliance with all regulations. He said the administration "is not out to hurt the parentteacher groups."

The FRHSD has six schools and five school stores. Some of the school stores are run by parent groups and other are run by the school's student government.

"Freehold High School does not have a school store. Freehold Township has a store that operates in the morning three days out of the week. They sell school supplies and apparel and it is run by the student government," Wasser said.

"Manalapan also has a store that sells apparel; they also sell minimal food items, but not during lunch. The Manalapan store is part of the special education curriculum. It is used as a learning tool.

"Howell's store also operates as a learning tool and is part of their special education curriculum. The store is open before school at 7 a.m. and they sell school supplies, apparel and minimal food," Wasser said. "There were only two schools (Marlboro and Colts Neck) that had an issue with the regulation."