Changes Made At Cannery in Cost Saving Effort

Stephens County School Superintendent Bryan Dorsey said the school system has made some changes at the cannery in an effort to save money.

Dorsey said that the school system has transferred the full-time employee to another position and is now operating the cannery with part-time employees in place that are supplemented with hours worked by the school system’s agriculture teachers.

He said that has resulted in a reduction in the number of hours that the cannery is open.

“It is still four days a week,” said Dorsey. “Instead of 10 hours a day, it will be eight hours a day.”

Dorsey said by transferring the full-time employee that had been at the cannery to another position in the school system that was open, it is resulting in a savings to the school system.

“I am sure we are somewhere around $35,000 (that we are) saving, making that transition,” said Dorsey.

However, Dorsey said that the cannery is still not breaking even financially, but is closer to doing so with the savings accrued from the changes that were made.

He said he is still exploring options for possibly privatizing the cannery and hopes to bring more information on some options on that to the school board at a later date.