Parents miffed over milk

[linsal]

Guys and gals...this is unfreakin' believeable....this is a school district not far from me...these bubble heads are the reason I got off my local school board...





Despite Wisconsin's nationally recognized status as the dairy state, the Baraboo School District has decided to end its practice of providing milk with students' morning snack this year.

While many parents pay 30 cents for the daily dairy offering, school officials decided to end the program due to concerns the state might eliminate the Wisconsin School Day Milk Program, which helps pay for the cost of milk for students from poor families, said Molly Fitzgerald, director of elementary programming and principal at Gordon L. Willson Elementary School. And even with the support from the state program, students who receive free milk through the free and reduced lunch program cost the district about $10,400 for free milk with snacks last year.

The district instead plans to encourage students to drink water with their morning snacks.

Baraboo resident Chris Hamm stated in an email to the News Republic that he had just learned milk no longer would be provided with snacks at Al Behrman Elementary School, where his son attends. Hamm said school officials explained to him that the cost was one of the reasons for the change.

"We paid for every carton my son drank, so what money are they talking about?" he asked.

Fitzgerald said the possible elimination of funding for part of the program could have created an unfair system.

"We didn't want to create a situation where children whose families could afford milk break and those families would not be able to contribute to providing a milk break would be left out," Fitzgerald said.

The district's Wellness Committee reviewed the issue and decided students should be encouraged to drink more water during the day, Fitzgerald said. It is a better choice rather than milk or juices, which have a high sugar content. Children still may have fat-free or low-fat white or chocolate milk at breakfast and lunch, she said.

"Just looking at the larger picture, the impact on the kids, on the school day and on the budget, we felt discontinuing the program for the (20)11-12 school year was the best decision we could make at the time, Fitzgerald said. "Sometimes change is difficult, but we wanted to keep the children's best interests in mind. We felt this was just the best decision for the Baraboo schools," she said.

Fitzgerald said parents with concerns about this or other issues may contact her via email at [e-mail].



www.wiscnews.com/baraboonewsrepublic/news/local/article_769b036e-d5dd-11e0-95da-001cc4c03286.html

[bcreech]

why is it unbeleivable
our gov't has been preaching for yrs that we can't let the poor KNOW they are poor so we have to give them everything we have so we are all on an even playing filed
BULLSHIT let them work for what they have

[jrtheoriginal]

ANd like the snacks are free? WHo is paying for those? This makes no sense!

but bcreech has a point!

[Sofakingwhat]

reduced fat/fat free for choices? I grew up on milk dipped from the bulk tank and red label milk when off the farm. The other stuff is just too watery. Like one of my town kid friends said in high school, drink a glass of whole, then fill it with water and you have skim.

[linsal]

bcreech does have a point. I guess my real concern is that the Wellness committee detemined that water is a better nutritional substitute than milk. I think that's sad. And the decision to cut milk from the break is being made b/c of a possible cut in state reimbursement, not an actual cut. The Wi state buget is a biennial budget. The current budget cycle runs from 7/1/2011 to 6/30/2013. It would be very unusual for the pols in Madison to revisit the state budget midstream---so I don't understand the concern.

And I bet that the concession stands are still selling pop and other garbage...and I wouldn't be surprised to see pop machines somewhere on school grounds...