Nutrition Group Inc. of Mount Laurel, New Jersey, will continue as Tamaqua Area School District's food service provider for the next five years.

The company has been providing school lunches to the district for the past six months.The board of directors approved the deal at a special meeting held Tuesday in the middle school's large instruction room. Two board members, Thomas Rottet and Mark Rother, were absent, although both were contacted by cellphone earlier in the evening to approve auxiliary committee recommendations.The new contract becomes effective as of July 1, and runs through June 2020 at a cost of $881,007.The firm and district came under fire from several parents two months ago.At the April 14 meeting, the Nutrition Group's Lyle Kerrick presented an overview of the National Nutrition Lunch Program and how it affects school lunches."The emphasis," he said, "is on calorie count and providing certain food items considered to be reimbursable by the federal government."Samples of the company's food items were available.Several parents and students attended the April 22 meeting, concerned about the freshness of the food and what they saw as a lack of oversight.One mother told the board her son became sick after eating a moldy roll and had to be treated at a hospital, although there was no direct connection established to the roll as it was never tested.A complaint about the color of the rolls was explained as "residue left by a nonstick agent."The board directed Makuta to fashion and implement a protocol to deal with any complaints students may have concerning their lunches.A cafeteria staff survey conducted around the same time was varied, although additional staffing was suggested by many of the employees.A move to change the school calendar for 2015-2016 was scrapped after the Tamaqua EducationAssociation voted not to accept changes to in-service days. The board thenvoted to return to theoriginal school calendar, which will have students returning to school on Aug. 24. Due to the late date for Labor Day this year, classes will be in session for two full weeks before the traditional end-of-summer holiday.Other businessThe board also approved a number of resolutions and agreed to the following actions.• Approved the purchase of $23,328 worth of technology items, including tablets, PCs and supplies.• Approved an agreement with Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit Technology group to provide support for the district's financial software, at a cost of $19,956 (an increase of $321).• Approved establishing the Homestead/Farmstead Exclusion reduction at $142 for eligible properties;• Approved the rebate, face and penalty period for payment of the 2015 calendar year per capita, assessed occupation and real estate taxes.• Entered a contract with Leader Services of Hazleton to process transactions billed through the Access Program (occupational therapists, speechtherapists, psychologist, etc.).• The final budget, without a tax increase, was approved in committee and will be voted on at the June 23 meeting.