School Lunch: "What we are feeding our Children is an Outrage"

The June 4th Metro Section of the Washington Post has an article on the push to improve our children’s lunches. The above quote is from Cathal Armstrong of Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Virginia. According to the Post article, written by reporter Jane Black,

…the city's Iron Chefs -- the group includes White House assistant chef Sam Kass, José Andrés of Jaleo, Todd Gray of Equinox, Spike Mendelsohn of Good Stuff Eatery and Robert Wiedmaier of Brasserie Beck -- decided that each chef would adopt a school. Kass is spearheading the project.

On Friday at the White House, to support First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Initiative, the chefs launched a national ‘adopt-a-school’ program. As usual, the District is leading the way. Our children will have to wait while MCPS touts that it ‘meets’ current USDA standards that are acknowledged as out-of-date.

Or, as the Renegade Lunch Lady, Ann Cooper, Nutrition Director for the Boulder Valley (Colorado) School District has stated, "We’ve grown a generation of children who think chicken nugget is a food group."

And no wonder. Last week on Thursday June 3rd, our children who attend MCPS schools had a choice of ‘Chips Olé with whole grain taco pieces, and baked turkey corn dog nuggets with baked beans;’ the next day, Friday, June 4th, they were offered ‘cheese, veggie, or pepperoni pizza and Morningstar chik’n nuggets with confetti corn.’

The chik’n nuggets are actually a vegetarian choice; one website said they were made with ‘textured soy protein.’ Four of these soy nuggets (apparently one serving) contain 190 calories, 7 grams of total fat (11% of the recommended daily amount), 1 gram of saturated fat (5% of the RDA), 490 milligrams of sodium (20% of the RDA for sodium), 15% of the recommended daily amount of iron, 12 grams of protein and 18 grams of total carbohydrates which includes 1 gram of sugars and 2 grams of fiber. Caloriecount.com gave this food item a ‘B+.’ Again, given the diversity of ethnic groups and restaurants in Montgomery County, one would think our school system could develop a menu that reflects us. Vegetarian is good, right? So, do we really have to serve it to our children in the form of ‘chik’n nuggets?’ Do we really have to present them with hot dogs, pizza, and chicken nuggets week after week? My children’s friends are African, Iranian, Indian, Thai, Korean, Japanese, Latino, Chinese, Italian, Jewish, Middle Eastern, and European, or descendents of the above, and more. So why are we feeding our children hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza?

To be fair, the MCPS website touts the ‘Maryland Farm-to-School Program’ which took place for one week in 2009, September 14-18. During that week on Thursday, children were offered ‘zucchini bread, pears, and cole slaw’ on Thursday; and ‘pizza veggies, cherry tomatoes, assorted fresh fruit’ that Friday. Which, really is even more scary, to know our children are not offered even cole slaw the rest of the year. I really hope that can’t be true.

What is your child eating?

Weast secret stash of $320,000 could fund 5 more teachers, but it won't...

We have seen this before here and here. Superintendent Jerry Weast has stashes of cash that he pulls out from time to time. We will see this again on June 8, 2010, when he produces funds from royalties received from ____________. Sorry, can't fill in the blank. Superintendent Weast isn't telling where these dollars came from. See his memo to the Board of Education below.

On Tuesday, Weast will reveal that MCPS received $194,704 in FY10 from an outside source. Funny how this money is just surfacing now, after the "tough" budget decisions have been made for FY11.

Couldn't these funds have gone to fund teacher salaries and keep teachers in classrooms for FY11? Of course. But that wouldn't be any fun.

Superintendent Weast will combine the $194,704 received from ________ with $126,139 in "net assets" to fund something that the Board of Education has never approved, the MyMCPS online community.

The Board of Education has only been allowed to discuss this new MyMCPS online system that will be funded with this new found cash.

If they were to vote on it they might have to make a "tough" decision! Nothing new here.

Funding $320,000 in experimental technology is a lot more fun that funding classroom teachers, right?

4.3.1 Enterprise  

Weast Legal Fees = 16 to 21 teachers

Have you ever taken a look at the money Superintendent Jerry Weast spends on outside law firms? Well you aren't alone. The Board of Education doesn't review these charges either.

So once again on Tuesday, June 8, 2010, as 20 teachers are laid off and services are cut for students, the Board will approve a one month litigation bill of $98,235 to outside law firms without discussion. That brings the FY10 total legal fees to outside law firms up to $1,077,525.

Note that MCPS does already employ their own in house counsel and has the services of the County Attorney at their disposal.

Could this bill be reduced? Of course. MCPS could use their own in house attorneys and save taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and keep teachers in classrooms. But that would require the Board of Education exerting oversight over the spending habits of the Superintendent, and that could be harmful to their political careers. That would be a "tough decision."

Student investigates school lunch waste

Budget squeeze forces layoffs in MontCo schools | Washington Examiner

Budget squeeze forces layoffs in MontCo schools | Washington Examiner

But, please see what the Board of Education WILL be spending money on HERE.

MCPS Lunch Production: "Not a nutrition educator"

School Lunch Miles 


Ten miles away from the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) office stands the Central Production Facility (CPF) for Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). The CPF prepares and distributes all foods for MCPS. It is the largest facility of its kind on the East Coast, has 840 employees (including a full-time mechanic), and is within MCPS—the largest school district in Maryland and 16th largest in the country. I recently went on a tour of the CPF with other ‘stakeholders' (e.g. moms, environmental activists, nutritionists).

Before going on a tour, we were told why the 58,000 square foot CPF, built in 1993, exists. This boiled down to safety (e.g. the entire facility is cool to prevent bacterial growth), uniformity in preparation, and expense (e.g. keep labor costs down by not having workers in each individual school). The CPF is an abnormally large caterer for MCPS and not a nutrition educator...


.. After swimming around in cheese sauce, the noodles will get sucked down through the bottom of the vat that was in the pit itself and through a large industrial metal tube that would transfer it to plastic bags. The plastic bags would then be sent up the conveyor belt at the end of the pit to be cooled; later, contents of these bags are emptied by hand into individual portions into the prepared ‘hot-packs' delivered to schools. Here again, was more nearly obsolete machinery and plastic... continues here.

It's Weast's Way or the Highway...

Here is Superintendent Jerry Weast's rejection of two Charter School applications. 

What school system is he referring to when he makes statements like the one below? MCPS takes native speakers in language immersion programs all the time! Is this "model" being followed in all of the MCPS immersion programs? 

Foreign language immersion, for instance, is a highly complex strategy that is best used with students who are not native speakers of the target language. Foreign language immersion typically involves teaching other disciplines in the target language and students usually are immersed in the target language for all or most of their instructional day. The model requires translated instructional materials in science, social studies, fine arts, and reading, and requires teachers who are fluent in the target language and certified and trained to teach many contents.

Most interesting is that Superintendent Weast notes that two of the people involved in one Charter School application are MCPS employees. He then goes on to criticize their proposal.  Does he really have that little confidence in his own employees? 


Any guesses as to how the Board of Education will vote on Tuesday? 

8.0 Charter School Applications  

MontCo superintendent nixes charter schools | Washington Examiner

MontCo superintendent nixes charter schools | Washington Examiner

20 Teachers OUT / No bid $542,314 contracts IN

On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, the MCPS Board of Education will meet to vote their unanimous (just a wild guess here) approval of the FY11 Operating Budget that Superintendent Jerry Weast has released today. 


When the Board approves the FY11 Operating Budget as decided by Superintendent Weast they will consent to 20 teachers being laid off on Monday, June 7th. (Wait - Monday is before Tuesday!  Yes, teachers will be let go before the Board even votes on the FY11 Operating budget. Apparently the Board vote is meaningless.) 

Then, after the Board bemoans the loss of teachers they will vote in FAVOR (again, a wild guess here) of a $542,314 No Bid procurement. ($542,314 would be the equivalent of 8 or 9 teacher salaries.)


The $542,314 on Tuesday will be going to a company called Wireless Generation. You may recall that is the company Superintendent Weast invested (see page 7 at link) over $500,000 of your tax dollars in, on the gamble that royalties from the sale of the Wireless Generation educational programs would flow into MCPS in an amount in excess of the investment. You can read how that worked out here. (Clue: Not so hot.)


The $542,314 will be going for a procurement that has never been put out for competitive bidding by other companies. Could MCPS get the same educational product for less? Is the product doing what it needs to do? Is there data to show that the initial investment and annual $500,000+ payment for this product are producing results in MCPS classrooms?  


One final note: The Wireless Generation product that MCPS invested in, and is paying annual fees for, is a program that depends on teachers using hand held Palm Pilots to input student information. 


Palm has discontinued manufacturing Palm Pilots as of this year. 


Maybe it's time to put this procurement out for a competitive bid and see what other educational data collection companies have to offer?


If it's worth 8 or 9 teacher salaries, isn't it worth the Board of Education taking some time to evaluate the purchase? 


June 8, 2010 Update: One Board member did not vote for the FY11 Budget. See her explanation why here.

Press Release: Community Groups Seek to End Ban on Vegetable Gardens in MCPS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                 
June 3, 2010                                                                                                   

Contact Gordon Clark                                                                                gordon@montgomeryvictorygardens.org

COMMUNITY GROUPS SEEK TO END BAN ON VEGETABLE GARDENS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY SCHOOLS

POLICY CONTRADICTIONS NOTED IN WAKE OF FIRST LADY'S VISIT

Silver Spring, MD - A growing collection of civic and community groups in Montgomery County are joining together to request that the Montgomery County Public Schools ban on vegetable gardens be revoked.

An open letter requesting the change, written by Montgomery Victory Gardens and the Montgomery County Master Gardener Association, was delivered today to MCPS Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.  While the letter will remain open for additional group signatures, initial co-signers include groups such as the West Montgomery County Citizens Association, the Audubon Naturalist Society,  the Takoma  Park Silver Spring Co-Op, the Montgomery Countryside Alliance, and the National Capital Area Garden Clubs.

"Vegetable gardens bring a multitude of benefits to school students," noted Jon Traunfeld of the University of Maryland Extension’s “Grow It Eat It” campaign, "from increased academic achievement and physical activity to greater environmental understanding and stewardship.  

Vegetable gardens also teach children healthier eating habits, and what could be more important in the battle against childhood obesity than teaching kids how to grow and eat fresh vegetables?"

The irony of the vegetable garden ban is noteworthy in the wake of First Lady Michelle Obama's recent visit to New Hampshire Estates Elementary School in Silver Spring.  "Superintendent Weast was deservedly proud to highlight the school's achievement in the Healthier U.S. Schools Challenge," observed Gordon Clark, Project Director of Montgomery Victory Gardens, "but was Michelle Obama aware that the Superintendent has banned school vegetable gardens, another one of her signature priorities?"

The ban on vegetable gardens is not part of written school policy, but was announced by Dr. Weast in a February 26 memo to the Board of Education. Other types of gardens, such as butterfly gardens or "sensory" gardens, are allowed.  Some Montgomery County schools have submitted applications to build vegetable gardens, only to be refused by the MCPS Department of Facilities Management.  The open letter responds to concerns raised in Dr. Weast's memo, while also outlining the many benefits vegetable gardens would bring to our county's school children.

The open letter can be viewed at http://montgomeryvictorygardens.org/documents/htm/weast_ltr.htm

News Channel 8: School: Sorry for Leaving Students in Heat for Hours

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Hundreds of students were left stuck in the hot sun for hours last Wednesday and now some parents in Montgomery County (web | news) are up-in-arms.  

EMS crews treated dozens for dehydration at Robert Frost Middle School in Rockville. wednesday night, parents looked for answers at a meeting at the school. 

Robert Frost Middle School Principal Dr. Joey Jones apologized to a crowd of concerned parents Wednesday night... 

..."My kid came home miserable, sunburned, dehydrated, starving," said parent Tasha Museles...

Full News Channel 8 story here. 

Fox 5: Frost Students Get Sick Waiting Outside in Heat During Bomb Scare

There's a little problem with the statements coming from MCPS on the issue of emergency preparedness. 

MCPS is a national model for Emergency Preparedness in large school systems. Other school systems are told to emulate MCPS and use the MCPS procedures for emergency planning, including establishing an off-site evacuation plan. Read the report here - see page 38 where MCPS is rated Best. 

Nothing about this situation should be a surprise to a principal, nor should there be any need for "lessons learned." This scenario should have already been planned for, and the plan was to be documented by the local school's On-Site Emergency Team (OSET).

Here is the Fox 5 report on the meeting Wednesday evening between Frost Middle School parents and the Principal. Was Superintendent Jerry Weast in attendance at this meeting? 

Gazette: "Bureaucracy that hides behind apple pie and the children..."

Workers push back on budget

Public safety employees lash out at teachers, schools

by Erin Cunningham | Staff Writer

The county's public safety workers reacted angrily following passage of Montgomery County's $4.3 billion budget last week, questioning why school system employees won't be furloughed.... 

Bader called the school system a "bloated bureaucracy."

"And nothing is being done to bring it under control," he said. "There are principals over there who do nothing but mentor new principals. " 

Schools spokesman Dana Tofig confirmed that some principals mentor new principals full time as part of the school system's investment in school leadership... 

Bader said the county's budget should include more support for public safety. The county has 3,746 public safety employees out of about 9,000 government employees. The school system has about 30,000 employees.

"But when the schools get off basically scot-free and police and public safety start subsidizing a bureaucracy that hides behind apple pie and the children," he said....

MCPS slowly backs away from The Wall

The Cabin John Middle School Modernization website now shows that MCPS' Construction Department is already coming up with ways to change or modify the 12 to 14 foot retaining Wall that they secretly inserted into the plans for the school. See the document below.

CJMS_Meeting6-1-10

Blame the real villain

Post Now - The Breaking News Blog: Parents, school to meet over evacuation

Officials at a Rockville middle school have scheduled a meeting* with parents after two dozen students suffered heat-related illnesses when forced to evacuate during a bomb threat.

Robert Frost Middle School students spent more than two hours in the school's fields last Wednesday, a day when temperatures climbed into the upper 80s.

Emergency personnel treated the kids who felt dizzy or dehydrated on-site, giving them water and Gatorade, said Scott Graham, a spokesman for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. None were transported to a hospital...

 ...Any anger over the incident, Tofig said, should be directed on the real villain: The person who made the bomb threat. 

“Principals have to make a call very quickly about potential threats,” Tofig said. “[Principal Joey Jones] thought he was doing what was in the best interest of the students.”

*The Frost Middle School meeting is scheduled for June 2nd at 7PM in the Frost MS Media Center.  

"Left to broil and dehydrate"

Dear Dr. Weast,

I am the mother of a sixth grade student at Robert Frost Middle School. I am writing to express my outrage over the actions of Dr. Joey Jones, the Principal of Frost MS, and the entire school staff, for their inexcusable treatment of 1,300 students during the bomb threat on Wednesday. The fact that 24 children FAINTED while being forced to sit without water (while watching their teachers drink water) under the direct sun for almost three hours while an air-conditioned auditorium at Wootton High School sat empty a couple of hundred meters away is unprecedented; I cannot believe this actually happened in a Blue Ribbon School in MCPS.


The incompetence of the school staff is beyond comprehension. I am a Russian émigré and former teacher who is now a US citizen, and I do not have words to express my feelings on this matter. I do not know what information you have received through "official" channels, but it is essential that you follow up on this incident immediately. We got a voice mail from Principal Jones at 4:30 PM about what happened and a weakly worded follow up letter, but neither even began to address the situation. Mr. Jones and his staff demonstrated a complete inability to handle a situation of this magnitude and we have lost complete confidence in his ability to safeguard our children.

Everybody knows how important it is to practice sun protection… the children were in direct harsh sun at the most dangerous time of the day for sun protection for three hours getting extreme sun damage during a very hot, cloudless day, yet even when multiple children started to faint from extreme exposure and dehydration, the clueless staff did not take any actions.

Dehydration is a severe threat to health, especially for children, and my son has asthma, which exacerbated the situation. I am also shocked that the children were seated relatively close to the building; if there was a bomb threat, why weren't they moved to the lower field away from the building. The breakdown on Wednesday was complete at every level. Even the medical technicians treating the children did not recognize the urgency of the lack of water and shade.

Inexplicable. Words fail me for this failure. And where was Principal Jones during this time? My son did not see him at all outside. He just saw staff doing nothing and drinking beverages while not even letting kids stand up.

One kid accidentally had carried his lunch outside and when he tried to eat it, he was harshly reprimanded by the same staff person who was drinking comfortably earlier. Every outdoor event for children that I have attended such as field days puts a paramount importance on having abundant water suppliers; EVERYONE knows how important this is. Meanwhile, our kids were left to broil and dehydrate in the direct sun for no apparent reason except sheer incompetence.

Dr. Weast, I hope you will take the appropriate actions quickly and decisively before other parents and I go to the media; this endangerment and abuse of children is beyond the pale and cannot be excused with typical bureaucratic nonsense.

The Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland thanks this parent for forwarding this letter to us. This parent wishes to remain anonymous in this posting. For the reference of our readers, here is the Google Earth image showing Frost Middle School and Wootton High School. 

Happy Hour to Benefit Walter Johnson Education Foundation

Happy Hour to Benefit Walter Johnson Education Foundation

As seen on the PTSA Listserve for Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, MD:

On behalf of the Walter Johnson High School Education Foundation you are cordially invited to the Second Annual Walter Johnson Education Foundation Happy Hour.

The Happy Hour will occur on Thursday, June 10, 2010 at Tommy Joe's in Bethesda, Maryland (4714 Montgomery Avenue). A $5 wristband will enable you to receive certain happy hour specials for the entire evening. During the window of 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM the Walter Johnson Education Foundation will receive a percentage of revenue at Tommy Joe's.

All alumni, parents, and friends of the Walter Johnson High School community are invited to attend. This will be a great venue to catch up with old friends, classmates, teachers, staff, and parents who you may have not seen in ages; however, you must be 21 years old to attend. Each and every year the Walter Johnson Education Foundation will hold a Happy Hour - This is your chance to be part of this fun event! There will also be door prizes including but not limited to: A gift certificate for Caddies on Cordell, A gift certificate for Vince and Dominic's Pizzeria, an aerial tour of Maryland, a WJ History DVD, and more.

RECAP: WHAT: WJ Education Foundation Happy Hour
WHERE: Tommy Joe's in Bethesda, Maryland
WHEN: Thursday, June 10, 2010 from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM
WHO: Alumni, Parents, Teachers, Staff,and Friends of the WJ community
Tommy Joe's is located at 4712 Montgomery Avenue, Bethesda, MD 20814
See you there!

Superintendent shall devote full time, attention and energy...

Take a look at this Superintendent's contract.

No, this isn't Superintendent Jerry Weast's contract. This is the contract entered into between the Board of Education and the Superintendent of Calvert County, Maryland. The contract was JUST SIGNED on Thursday, May 27, 2010 and it is already available for the pubic on the Calvert County Public School website! Talk about transparency!

Jerry Weast has been in Montgomery County since 1999 and the public hasn't seen his contract yet! 


And don't miss the clause in the contract shown below. Imagine a full-time Superintendent - no outside employment or professional activities for compensation without the prior consent of the Board. Has Superintendent Jerry Weast ever brought his schedule of outside activities before the MCPS Board for approval or review? Does Superintendent Weast disclose his outside activities on his Ethics disclosure form? Not that we have seen. Things to think about as MCPS hires its next Superintendent.

No Race to the Top for MCPS

The Washington Post: Maryland, District join second round of Race to the Top education initiative

...For Maryland, the award could be $250 million. The state proposes to expand a "breakthrough center" to focus on helping low-performing schools. It pledges an overhaul of teacher evaluation, giving more weight to student achievement, and adoption of common academic standards. Maryland Department of Education spokesman William Reinhard said 22 of the state's school systems have endorsed the bid, with Montgomery and Frederick counties the only holdouts...

MCPS FY11 budget as approved by Council on May 27, 2010

The full text of the Montgomery County Council resolution approving the MCPS FY 11 Operating Budget can be found here. See page 3 for the final budget numbers for MCPS.