Facing a $10.8-million deficit, Glendale Unified considers cutting catering — including Porto’s
As the Glendale Unified School District attempts to reverse its deficit spending, district officials are looking to tighten their belts by cutting down on meal and snack spending.
Earlier this school year, Cheryl Plotkin, Glendale Unified’s interim chief business and financial officer, drafted a list containing more than 20 ways the district could trim spending or boost revenue before officials adopt the 2017-18 budget in June.
A recent report projects the district could face a $10.8-million general fund deficit in the next fiscal year.
One proposal from Plotkin is to reduce spending on catering for community events by 20% to save $20,000 annually.
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Public events impacted by the cuts could include meetings of the facilities oversight committee or the Local Control and Accountability Plan Committee, in which parents, residents and educators offer input about how Glendale school officials should prioritize goals.
When it came to spending on meals and snacks in 2015 and 2016, Glendale Unified tended to patronize locally owned businesses.
For community and employee gatherings, the district spent more at Porto’s Bakery & Café than any restaurant in Glendale.
Last year, Glendale Unified spent about $21,500 at Porto’s, according to the district’s purchase order reports. In 2015, the district spent even more — about $26,000.
The family-owned Cuban café opened its doors on Brand Boulevard in 1982, after relocating from Los Angeles. It is widely celebrated for its flaky cheese rolls and meaty fried mashed potato balls, among other treats.
Porto’s is located just half a mile away from the district’s headquarters, where school officials, who oversee the education of 26,000 students, often provide food for staff as well as parents.
“GUSD provides food during lengthy meetings, including parent and community meetings, staff meetings and board meetings, at times when it is conducive to meeting objectives and time of day to include meals or snacks,” said Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr.
The district’s nutrition services department provides meals prepared in-house as well as food purchased from local eateries.
“Porto’s Bakery is a common choice, as they offer low-cost [ à la carte] breakfast items and sandwiches that are popular with staff and parents,” Roberson said.
From 2015 to present, Glendale Unified has been helmed by one former full-time superintendent, three interim superintendents, and now Roberson since last April.
Despite frequent leadership changes, Glendale Unified has remained a consistent customer of Porto’s.
We can make miracles for whatever budgets people have.
— Betty Porto
Porto’s co-owner Betty Porto said it was not always officials at district headquarters who placed the orders. Nor was it Glendale teachers, who often live in other cities, or principals, who were often hired by Glendale Unified from other school districts.
“It’s a relationship that started with the parents reaching out, because they’re my customers — they live in the area,” Porto said.
Parents of elementary school students would often order baked goods for special
“My connection has always been the parents,” Porto said.
Through word of mouth, school officials caught on to the bakery’s “incredible quality,” she said, leading the bakery to provide food for events such as teacher meetings.
It took longer — up until three or four years ago — to convince Glendale Unified that Porto’s had more to offer than pastries and cakes, she said.
“For many, many years, the people in the district, they didn’t know that we did sandwiches. It took me a long time — years and years — of us telling them, ‘We’re not just cakes and pastries. We can do sandwiches and salads.’”
The bakery also complies with the one condition that Glendale school officials relay when they call.
“They’re very tight on their budget,” Porto said. “They always say, ‘We have little, little money.’ I always say, ‘Tell me what you have [money wise], and we’ll make it work.’”
Elsewhere in Glendale, the district spent about $14,600 at Mario’s Italian Deli & Market in 2015 and about $3,500 in 2016.
Glendale Unified also spent about $3,600 at Panera Bread in 2015 and $2,700 last year.
At Frank’s Famous Kitchen and Bakery, the district spent about $500 in 2015 and $1,600 last year.
For Porto, her bakery’s relationship with local schools is a mutually beneficial one.
When parents or students in Glendale or even other school districts call, looking for a discount, she’ll negotiate one.
By midday Monday, Porto said she had received six requests from local schools, colleges or universities to provide discounted items that students could turn around and sell to raise money.
“It’s a great thing when schools in your community work together, with you,” she said. “We can make miracles for whatever budgets people have.”
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
