They also thought that Education Alternatives needed the contract itself more than a profit.

More definitive results will take two to three years, Education Alternative says.

Education Alternatives, however, believes that the union strategy has failed.

Education Alternatives' ability to buy computers, paper and other supplies in bulk also saved millions, he said.

Education Alternatives would also still have an obligation to make all the schools clean and safe.

Education Alternatives has made no profits since its inception.

Education Alternatives, a publicly traded company founded three years ago, runs 13 individual public schools elsewhere.

Education Alternatives has bet much of its corporate future on winning a districtwide contract.

Candidates endorsed by the union say the experiment with Education Alternatives has failed.

Education Alternatives, a Minneapolis company, was operating at a loss.