BRENHAM ISD HIRES NEW CHILD NUTRITION DIRECTOR
Brenham ISD has hired a new child nutrition director.
(courtesy Brenham ISD)
At Thursday’s meeting of the Brenham School Board, trustees approved the hiring of Kasandra Davis, who will begin her new role in April. Davis is replacing Sandra Baxter, who is leaving the district after being hired in 2016 to take a position with Bryan ISD.
Davis has ten years of experience in the K-12 school food service industry, most recently serving as the assistant director of child nutrition for Lamar Consolidated ISD and registered dietitian and nutrition assistant for Houston ISD. She recently led the COVID-19 curbside services at Lamar Consolidated ISD, rebranded the department, implemented new technology for menu planning and managed production and inventory.
Trustees recognized and thanked Baxter for her years of service, referencing her work to set up drive-thru meal sites for students during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board also recognized Director of Information Technology Kim Strauss, who is retiring at the end of June. Strauss has worked in Brenham ISD for 19 years, and has served in her current role since 2013. Earlier this year, she was named a finalist for the Texas Computer Education Association’s (TCEA) Technology Administrator of the Year Award. Trustees thanked her for her work over the years, as well as during the pandemic in setting up virtual instruction.
During Superintendent Dr. Tylor Chaplin’s report, he announced the district has received 25 applications for the principal position at Brenham Junior High School. He said after spring break, the district will begin going through applications and setting up interviews. He said there is a tentative start date of June 1st for a new principal.
Following the sudden dismissal of previous principal Bryan Bryant in December, the district chose Diana Werner, a retired principal from Bryan ISD, to serve in the position for the spring semester.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the board approved:
- A contract with program management firm Lockwood, Andrews and Newnam, Inc. for pre-bond planning services. The amount of the contract is $49,000.
- A resolution for employee pay and benefits due to the weather closure in February. The resolution gives the district permission to pay the salary of employees who were unable to come to work the week of February 15-19, and pay time and a half to employees who did come in.
Full press release from Brenham ISD below:
Tonight, the Brenham ISD Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Kasandra Davis as the new child nutrition director for Brenham ISD. Mrs. Davis will assume the new leadership role beginning in April.
Mrs. Davis has ten years of experience in the K-12 school food service industry. She has planned meals for 270,000+ students per day between 25 menus across 280+ campuses and accommodating dietary requests for 760+ students with medical needs in her past roles. Mrs. Davis is a registered dietitian and holds a ServSave certification. This visionary leader recently led the COVID-19 curbside services at Lamar Consolidated ISD, re-branded the department, implemented cutting-edge technology for menu planning, and managed production and inventory.
"The interview committee was impressed with Mrs. Davis's experience and knowledge of the food service industry. Mrs. Davis emphasized the importance of providing good leadership and the desire to contribute to the mission and vision of Brenham ISD. After working for the largest school district in Texas, she is able to use that lens to catapult Brenham ISD to new levels of excellence. Her past experience, coupled with her desire to make the child nutrition department the best department it can be, makes her the best candidate for the position." said Dr. Tylor Chaplin, Superintendent of Brenham ISD.
Davis has served the food service industry in different capacities. Most recently, she was the assistant director of child nutrition for Lamar Consolidated ISD and registered dietitian and nutrition assistant for Houston Independent School District. She holds a master's degree in human resource development specializing in training and adult education.
"I’m excited to be a part of the Cub Nation and bring my prior experience to the Child Nutrition Department. My vision is to put a face behind the tray and showcase what nutrition looks like in today’s world. Students can’t learn if they’re hungry and students deserve to be excited about the meals we offer." said Kassandra Davis.
At this board meeting the board approved paying ALL district employees for the time they were off during the ice storm. The BOARD also approved paying those employees who were called IN TO WORK IN PERSON premium pay at the time and a half rate. This is NOT what was paid out to those employees who were required to come to work in dangerous conditions. Those women, many who don’t even make $10 an hour, came in to work and were rewarded with ONE HALF THEIR HOURLY RATE OF PAY! For example Jane Doe WHO MAKES $10 an hour drove to work on Friday, Feb 19 (on icy roads) worked for 4 hours to get things ready to feed the children of the community. She was told and expected to receive 1.5 times her hourly rate of pay for coming out in hazardous conditions. INSTEAD she was only paid $5 an hour for the 4 hours she was on school property working during the weather emergency. So she earned $20 for those 4 hours. The district and board decided to redefine the definition of time and a half. These people have been taken advantage of and this has got to stop! Next time there is a flood, hurricane, ice storm etc the district should not expect the lowest paid people on the ladder to put themselves at risk. They will stay HOME along with teachers, aides and other campus personnel. Let the HIGHLY big shots of the district get out and do this work. Hopefully someone will see this who has an answer for WHY the employees were led to believe one thing and then totally blindsided by earning HALF THEIR HOURLY WAGE FOR HOURS WORKED DURING A DISASTER. Shame on the superintendent and board for treating these employees in this manner! You will harvest what you plant and you all are planting mistrust and apathy!
Hopefully she can get in the office and see what’s going on with the food alot of the students are complaining about how the food is not good like it use to be…My children always come home ready to eat because of how the food taste…something has to be done about what’s being served