The Nebraska State College System Trustees have approved changes to its policy on food service contracts that opens the door for a single company to serve all 3 schools for up to 9 years without a challenger.
Currently, separate contracts are let for Chadron State, Wayne State, and Peru State that run for a maximum of 5 years.
Under the changes approved yesterday at a board meeting in Chadron, companies will be able to offer a single bid for all 3 colleges and be able to extend the 5-year contract an additional 4 single-year times.
Chancellor Paul Turman saud this seemed the perfect time to explore the changes because all 3 current contracts expire next year.
The hope is that economies of scale created by one company providing food for all 3 schools will be passed along to the students. The contract could be terminated by either side without penalty if either side is unhappy with the deal.
An RFP – Request For Proposal – will be going out shortly to food service providers. While the preference would be for a system-wide contract, Turman says the option of separate contracts for each school will still be offered for bidder.
The state college trustees yesterday also approved changes to the policy covering college bookstores, including extending them by adding the 4 renewals provision.
None of the 3 colleges have traditional on-campus bookstores, so the policy was change to reflect the fact they’ve been replaced by on-site apparel shops and online textbook sales.