A strike by QCSD support staff is looming, but the school board has the money to avert it. Rather, they did have it, until last month. Until they voted to build a kitchen for a few families, instead of staving off a strike against all.
Richland Elementary School has real problems, no doubt about it. A leaking roof, noxious odors, inadequate bathrooms and library, and, worst of all, no air conditioning. There are stories about how melting roof tar used to drip on the desks. The kids' needs have been ignored for decades, and RES parents are understandably upset. Finally, the district voted to spend $8.2 million to do the right thing. And the wrong thing.
The roof, bathrooms, air conditioning, and various remodeling projects are absolutely needed. But not so for an additional item on the worklist - the kitchen. RES currently has a "production kitchen"; everything for lunch is prepared right there. But to continue as such, it would have to be expanded, at a cost of about $420,000. The district had budgeted to keep it the same size, call it a "satellite kitchen", and carry in a few food items from the new Strayer Middle School kitchen, about 300 yards away. This currently works just fine for Haycock and Tohickon Valley elementary schools.
Both types of kitchens have stoves, microwaves, ovens, sinks, and prep areas. Both employ the same number of workers. QCSD Business Administrator Sylvia Lenz explained that satellite kitchens actually cook all of the entrees, make sandwiches, and prepare all fresh foods and salads. Only the sauces, sliced meats, and baked goods would come from Strayer, which, according to Lenz, has available capacity for the next 10 years, and can easily handle the current satellite schools and RES.
Joan O'Keefe, the district's Food Service Manager, stated that both types of kitchens were "completely adequate". QCSD's official written finding was "Either solution is completely safe and workable. The decision for the board is about finances and preference, not about safety or logistics". Is it worth $420,000 to avoid having to carry some sauces 300 yards, especially since the system works fine for two schools even further away?
A few days before the September 27 board meeting, Director Manuel Alfonso went to RES to observe the lunch period. He saw long lines, which exist at all schools. Alfonso asked the administration to make sure the architect was at the meeting to address how the kitchen choice would affect the lines. The architect did not attend.
As a result, some board members felt they did not have enough information. Alfonso made a motion to table the decision until the architect could address the line situation. But Lenz explained that in order to get the vital roof project completed next summer, the entire plan had to be submitted now to the township zoning board.
Superintendent Dr. Lisa Andrejko characterized the line issue as an "administration problem", and told the board that if they wanted it solved, they should simply direct her to do so. She had several suggestions. But the directors plowed right ahead, without input from the professionals or their own superintendent, and voted 7-1 to spend the $420,000. Alfonso, who voted for the expansion, later lamented "We were forced to vote on this important issue without knowing all the facts. Had I been able to get categorical answers, I might have voted differently. I believe we didn't serve this community well. All facts should have been on the table before we voted on this. They weren't." But several facts indeed were...
Dr. A favored the satellite concept. She offered solutions for the line problem. She is trying desperately to save your tax dollars. And she was very guarded in her response to the vote: "Our task was to present both options to the board for consideration. After a good deal of research, the administration concluded that either solution would be workable and meet the food service goals for students. The board's role is to ask the questions of administration and solicit feedback from parents and community to assist in their decision making. I believe the feedback they received led to their decision. Now our job is to support the decision and insure it works!"
Did the directors really solicit feedback from parents and the community? No one can blame the few RES families that spoke up at the meeting. They want "the best" for their kids. But it is the board's responsibility to do what is best for everyone in the entire district. The $420,000 is just about what it will take to keep the support staff from striking.
Their expired contract paid them, collectively, about $5 million yearly. (Teachers and administration receive about $60 million). They are seeking a raise of about 10 percent. The district will probably offer around four, miles apart. But if you add in the $420,000 from the kitchen, it allows the board to offer eight percent for more than two years, which should satisfy everyone while Dr. Andrejko re-evaluates the entire budget. That new kitchen won't be much good without staff to operate it.
But if our directors are truly concerned with listening to the community, why haven't they lowered taxes, or slashed spending? You can bet that if those items were placed on the agenda, far more citizens would show up than the handful who supported the RES kitchen. If there wasn't a severe money crunch here - if this board had not already raised taxes by over 50 percent - perhaps we could afford luxuries like full kitchens for each school. But every dollar spent on a production kitchen for Richland Elementary is one less dollar available for education in a district where about one-third of the 11th graders failed the PSSA's in 2006 and 2007. And where we face a strike.
And, folks, here's more bad news: Our high school is due for massive renovations. $50-$80 million! The heat is on, and, in kitchen parlance, the wurst is yet to come.