| PEORIA: District 150 and union negotiating
PEORIA - District 150's cafeteria employees won't face outsourcing this school year because the district has decided to keep its current food service arrangement in place. But issues like pay and insurance are still up in the air because the employees' union is currently in contract negotiations with District 150. The union - the Peoria Federation of Support Staff Local 6099 - also represents clerical and paraprofessional employees. Raises aren't budgeted for the union, which was news to the union president when informed by the Journal Star on Monday. "We're not accepting that as an answer. … Any non-financial gain proposal would really be unacceptable at this point," Local 6099 President Debbie Chavez said. If raises are bargained, it could impact the district's balanced budget, which is expected to be adopted at Tuesday's School Board meeting.
Allergy vigilance
Kim Fitzpatrick's 5-year-old daughter is thrilled at the prospect of kindergarten starting Tuesday at the Carlisle Public School. She, however, is apprehensive. It's not that she doesn't think her gregarious daughter will fit in well and make new friends; it's the fear that one of them will innocently offer the child a snack that could send her into anaphylactic shock. Fitzpatrick, of course, is not the only parent who sees the start of school as a potentially frightening situation. According to the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, a worldwide nonprofit organization dedicated to education on the topic of food allergies, the incidence of food allergy has doubled in the past 10 years and now affects approximately 2.2 million school-age children nationwide. But rather than simply worrying, Fitzpatrick took a proactive approach over the summer.
Reynolds district to discontinue overall free lunches
The Reynolds School District will no longer offer free breakfasts and lunches to all students regardless of family income, a change that will directly affect free meal programs at Alder, Davis, Glenfair and Hartley elementary schools as well as Reynolds Middle School. Prior to this year's changes, the district had offered free meals at those schools because the majority of their students, in some cases more than 70 percent, came from families that would have qualified for free meals or meals at reduced prices anyway, according to Don Richardson, director of nutrition services. "There's numerous studies that show that students who have breakfast do better in academics," he said. "This was a way to add a service to the community that would benefit the community." Richardson cited rising costs for food, fuel, labor and equipment and other costs as the reason for the district's decision to end the free meal program.
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