Board of Education Overcrowds High School Cafeterias

This is the fire code limit for the Winston Churchill High School Cafeteria with a limit of 700.

Per Churchill's website there are 2,137 children enrolled in Churchill.

The school will confirm that the entire school (all 4 grade levels)  has lunch during the exact same lunch period.

Students are less likely to be able to get out safely in the event of a fire, than adults. Churchill has been notified of this, but continues the practice of having lunch and other events (such as the last school dance where 1,000 tickets were sold for the dance in this same cafeteria) well beyond the fire code limit.

Recently a fight broke out during lunchtime at Churchill. Experts can weigh in on the behavioral affects of crowding kids regularly into a small space. No observed effort has been made to have a head count on how many of the 2,137 children are in the 700 person limit in the cafeteria on a daily basis. Free or reduced lunch children must go through the cafeteria to get their food. This is just one example of MCPS schools failing to follow rules regarding student safety even after being informed.