Oxford High School’s cafeteria may get a new look after potential renovations projected to cost nearly $97,000 were unveiled at the Dec. 5 board of education meeting.

According to Oxford Schools Nutrition Services Director Karen Bissett, the expansion would allow staff to serve reimbursable lunches to students more quickly and provide more options to students, giving the cafeteria a “university-style” feel.

The project would add three more points of sale to the area which currently serves items from the a la carte menu, known as the “Snack Shack.”

The Snack Shack would be relocated to the commons area of the school and items served from a portable stand, which is currently owned by the program, Bissett said.

The renovations would also include the addition of a daily stir-fry line, an option which has already been a hit among students during trial runs.

“(The stir-fry) will be cooked fresh for the student going through the line . . . We’ve run that line a few times, just trying it out, and it has been one of our biggest sellers,” Bissett said. “We’re really excited that we’re going to be able to offer that every day and it’s going to be cooked right in front of them and provide the students healthier options.”

If approved, the project would begin Dec. 22 or 23. According to Bissett, after students return from holiday break on Jan. 7, all remaining construction would take place around OHS lunch hours.

“It will not impact serving lunches at all,” she added.

Money for the project would come from the district’s food services program budget.

Between the two bidding contractors, the top choice for the project is the Clarkston-based Heritage Contracting, according to Assistant Superintendent of Business and Operations Sam Barna, with the projected cost totaling $96,736.

Bissett expects the increased sales to bring more revenue to the district, as the program contributes to the general fund through indirect cost allocation annually.

According to Barna, the food services program contributed just under $100,000 to the district’s general fund budget during the 2015-16 school year.

“The district’s general fund budget does not support our program at all. We run our program as a business,” Bissett explained. “We serve around 800 lunches a day, plus a la carte (items), but we want to be able to serve more students.

“There are students that bring lunch from home because they don’t want to wait in line. This will give our students an opportunity to get through the lines faster and it will also offer them more choices.”

With three additional lunch lines, Bissett said the program will also hire at least two staff-members to support the anticipated increase in lunch sales.

The school board was expected to make a decision at its Dec. 13 meeting.