By Brandi Makuski

The SPASH cafeteria is in line for a remodel.

The Stevens Point School Board on Monday night agreed the school’s got the room, but the space isn’t being used in the most efficient manner. Plans are to switch the ala carte serving room with the larger dish room area.

“I think it’s a great idea,” said Board Member Amy Dailey. “Our students are loving it; more and more kids are using the ala carte option.”

Building and Grounds Director Don Keck said switching the two gives the growing ala carte service more space and puts the dish return next to the kitchen, cutting down on dish return traffic in a busy hallway.

“We have a lot of kids that are eating more at school, and our ala carte is very successful, but the rooms that all of these things take place in are just not appropriate,” said Interim Superintendent Lee Bush. “So we want to make that better at the high school for those kids.”

Bush said the remodel is not currently built into the budget, but will be recovered from the existing food service department budget over two to three years. The growing ala carte use helps pay for the changes, he added.

“All we know is, as you offer more ala carte items that you make a little money with that,” he said. “So if you have a better system in a better area to do it at, it will probably increase that, so that budget will increase as time goes by.”

The school currently serves lunch and breakfast items from the ala carte area, which often has a long line, adding to the hallway pedestrian traffic issues.

The cost of the remodeling project is estimated at between $157,000 and $192,000. The changes should be complete by the start of school next fall.