Billy Reid asks Lowell School Board for a pass after admitting record-keeping mistake as food director

By DEAN REA/Correspondent/The Herald — When William “Billy” Reid stepped off the boat in New York City, the young Irish immigrant had three career choices: “I was too short to be a firefighter or police officer,” he said. “So, I chose the restaurant business.”

He soon began learning to be a gourmet cook in some of New York City’s finest. He then moved to California, became a food director specialist and received a number of awards in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Healthier Challenge. Eventually, he served as a consultant to the Lowell School District, and eight years ago became the district’s food service director.

Wednesday night Reid, now 60 and wearing a sports outfit rather than in his normal work attire, stood before school board members and acknowledged that he made a mistake earlier this year.

“I filled out a form and said I performed, at the proper time, a site monitoring when I did not.”

That occurred last November when he said he initially failed to fill out the form because he was undergoing emergency surgery for a “burst blood vessel in my chest.”

“It is an action that I truly regret,” he told the board in a prepared statement. “I did so in a moment of sheer terror and panic.”

The five-member board met in closed (executive) session for two hours while considering the matter under provisions of Oregon law that reads: “To consult with counsel concerning the legal rights and duties of a public body with regard to current litigation or litigation likely to be filed.”

Members of the public are excluded from attending such a session, and a member of the press joined Reid and his wife Kathleen while waiting for board members to complete their investigation.

Then Reid stood before board members, reviewed his record, hinted that he dislikes the strict accounting that agencies require of food service operations and asked for leniency based on his service to Lowell residents and their children.

He pointed out his role in helping feed community members during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the pandemic, my team served over 300,000 meals to our needy community,” he wrote. “Most people saw the lines of cars blocks long on service day, but no one saw the other five, sometimes six days of prepping for the service day.

“My leadership skills proved particularly helpful during the closures. We generated over $1 million in revenue, and even after ODE (Oregon Department of Education) findings, we will still have in excess of $350,000 in reserves.

“I am appealing to you (board members) to forgive my mistake and to allow me the opportunity to continue my work in Lowell. Having recently built a house in Lowell (the Fall Creek area), I want to be a part of Lowell until I retire.”

After board members Chairman Mike Galvin, Dionne Plahn, Suzanne Kintzley, Jim Chapman and Jason Prenevost completed the executive session, they returned to the board room and adjourned without comment.

However, when Supt. Johnie Matthews was asked if Billy would have a job when he reported to work Thursday morning, the answer was “yes.”