The Harford County Board of Education plans a March 10th business meeting to include naming an area at Harford Technical High School after former principal William Seccurro, and a presentation showing dramatic increases in meal services for students from low income families.
On the consent agenda, the Board will approve a request to name the construction courtyard at Harford Technical High School for Dr. William B. Seccurro, a former principal of the school and a former HCPS supervisor of career and technology education. Dale Neeper, a former Harford Tech administrator, made the request under a recent board policy revision that authorizes naming honors under specified conditions.
Under new business, Gary Childress, food and nutrition supervisor, and Jim Jewell, assistant superintendent of business services, will make a presentation on HCPS food and nutrition services. The U.S. Department of Agriculture National School Lunch Program sets guidelines for such services, which include breakfast and lunch offered to all students during the school year. Funding comes from a combination of sales revenue and federal and state subsidies.
The presentation Monday includes details on meal services specifically for low income families.
Presentation highlights include:
• Dramatic increases in both the number and percent of students determined eligible for Free and Reduced Meals (FARMS) over the past seven years. The number rose from 8,240 students in fiscal year 2007 to 11,548 in 2014, despite a decline in the total student population. The percent grew from 21% to 30% of the total population. The presentation attributes the increases to a sluggish economy and increased outreach to struggling families. Eligibility for FARMS is based on family income, and established through a voluntary application process.
• Summer meals jumped 144% between 2012 and 2013 with the addition of dinner, to a total of 90,559 meals. Summer meals served under the federal Summer Food Service Program for low income families also include breakfast, lunch and snack. Program locations include 19 school sites and eight off-site locations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of Harford County.
• General information about HCPS food and nutrition services for all students:
Find the complete published presentation linked below.
Last on the March 10th meeting agenda is a report from Superintendent Barbara Canavan.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the A.A. Roberty Building in Bel Air, with a public comment period set for 6:35 p.m. The published agenda appears below. Please note that published agendas are subject to change.
Agenda
Monday, March 10, 2014
Board Open Session – 5:40 PM – Board Room
Board Closed Session – 5:45 PM – Board Executive Conference Room
Board Business Meeting – 6:30 PM – Board Room
*Times are approximate6:30 PM
Call to Order – Mrs. Nancy Reynolds, President
Quorum Roll Call
Adoption of Agenda
Pledge of Allegiance6:35 PM Public Comment
6:50 PM Board Committee Reports and Comments
Old Business
Action Item(s):7:05 PM A. Consent Agenda:
1) Affirmation of Monthly Contract Awards (Goal 4)
2) Minutes of Previous Board: February 24 2014 (Goals 1 – 4)
3) Naming of Harford Tech High School Construction Courtyard for Dr. William B. Seccurro (Goals 1 – 4)
New Business
Presentation(s):
7:10 PM B. Presentation on Food and Nutrition Services, Mr. James M. Jewell, Mr. Gary Childress (Goal 4)
7:30 PM C. Superintendent’s Report
Closing
7:40 PM Future Meetings Review
Adjournment
Free food for all. All you have to do is register as a Democrat and the free programs will come your way.
Well at least you are proud enough to stand on hungry children to make this a party affiliation issue. Personally if a kid is hungry I’d rather spend my time feeding them than taking food away from them. But that’s just me..
Who would be taking food away? We have probably already paid to have the child fed at home.
Will we be reducing the WIC/SNAP/etc benefits of those families who elect to receive a free breakfast? Program participants are given an allowence per child based upon the child eating all 21 meals per week at home or using food prepared at home, so if the child eats nearly half of those 21 meals for free at school, the benefits paid to the parent on behalf of the child should be reduced.
It has been going on in your backyard for over 5 years. My guess is it is already factored in to the program.
Are you suggesting that the amount of money given to a family is already reduced because meals are available at school?
Being that WIC only covers families with Children under 5, school age. That part is a no brainer. Furthermore since SNAP benefits include as income, benefits from Social Security and disability etc. I am sure farm benefits are included!
I think they feed kids at school over summer now too. Why cook when you can send the kids down the block for 3 squares a day? Cooking is so passe anyway – liberated women don’t cook, liberated women don’t even work…real liberated women are liberated from any responsibility at all. They are free to sit around doing absolutely nothing including taking care of their own kids.
“You’re not wrong, Walter, you’re just an asshole.” – the Dude
Don’t bet on it Kharn – that would require someone to analyze, carve up and adjust payments – I think we all know that isn’t happening. We’re almost certainly double paying, and likely providing a good deal more that isn’t going to its intended purpose. It’s the disgusting reality of the grossly over-fed political machine.
Want to conduct an interesting sociological experiment. Go to most any convenience store in the southern part of the county after 11 PM and watch what happens. On a very regular basis people will come in and use their Independence cards to purchase soda, chips, candy, etc.. Then they will reach into their pockets and pull out a nice wad of cash and purchase, alcohol, cigarettes, and most frequently, flavored cigar wrappers, most commonly used for smoking weed AKA: marijuana. I guess the Democrats feel that people like this desperately need the assistance of the hard working tax payers to feed the families of these folks after they have paid from 250-400 dollars and ounce for weed. Many of these people feel that they are entitled to do this and are not to be held accountable. If you don’t believe this happens you are probably a Democrat.
Same kids with $400 iphones and $150 Air Jordans and whos parents drive new escalades with 22″ rims on them…………… and we are buying them more food.
22 inch wheels are so 2002.
Not me. Find a new name.
The comments posted here insinuating that we should not feed children or that “Same kids with $400 iphones and $150 Air Jordans and whos parents drive new escalades with 22? rims on them,” are just plain ignorant.
As a teacher who has worked my entire career in impoverished and at-risk communities, I find this kind of commentary offensive and vile. To belittle the needs of poor students and families, particularly children is perhaps the lowest and most despicable for of treachery. You should be ashamed of yourself.
My point isn’t to belittle the nutritional needs of kids. My point is to belittle the clear overlap of programs, between the EBT, Wic, and breakfast/lunch at school no wonder there’s so many fat kids. Isn’t the taxpayer owed some sense of responsibility for the money taken in name of feeding the poor? If you aren’t feeding the kids at home then you shouldn’t be getting the full stipend for food stamps or WIC. If you think that iphones and $150 sneakers aren’t reality in impoverished neighborhoods then you aren’t moving around with your eyes open. It doesn’t start in 1st grade either – with no supporting evidence that Head Start does anything to jump start learning with any permanance it serves as nothing more than babysitting for lazy people; they feed kids there too. Giving people everything creates uselessness.
You really have no idea what you are talking about. At one point in my life I needed WIC for my son and I went to the food pantry in Bel Air. He still had nice clothes because my family often gave him clothes to help me supplement what I could afford. You have no idea the hardships which impoverished children and their families face. Your assertions are offensive, vitriolic and obscene. You should be ashamed.
We should be ashamed to create a system that sentences kids to become part of the permanent underclass by subsidizing all their needs without requiring initiative or responsibility from parents. It’s not just creating a permanent underclass, but worse than that an underclass that behaves criminally and believes they are entitled to what others have accomplished from work.
Again your comments represent a uneducated, ignorant and foolish perspective. The false equivalency that you purport is biased and meritless. It is routinely disproven by facts and history. It is unethical and morally bankrupt. You should be ashamed of yourself.
There is not reason why any child should ever go hungry in the USA.
Ryan,
I agree there is no reason any child should have to go hungry. Their parent should feed them. You needed assistance at some point in your life. Did you receive the assistance and then not feed your child? The resources are there for the parent and feeding their children should be required. If the parent is not feeding their children we should be dealing with the parent. Your labeling others because they believe parents should be taking care of their children is also just plain ignorant.
Apparently you are new to money tree, She likes to argue about subjects she doesn’t understand. And yes she is a miserable vile person.
She may like to argue, but she is correct when she states that parents should be required to feed their children. Whether she is vile or miserable does not relieve parents of the responsibility to feed their children.
Mr. Burbey has stated that he once received WIC. I would like to think that when he did, he used that resource to feed his children. I would also like to think that if Mr.Burbey was receiving SNAP, that he would use those resources to feed his children. Why would he send his children to school hungry if he was receiving resources to feed them?
It is modern-day slavery. Yes – slavery to the system. If you don’t agree, go look at some stats on how many of these people have been 100% dependent across multiple generations. What percent get off the system annually and never return. What percent of the ethnic groups most affected participate in these governmental “help” programs…if you’re honest, you’ll see we have a fully funded, fully staffed underclass of economic slaves.
Mr Burbey,
I don’t agree. Some of us fully understand paying for our obligations and only having the children we can afford. The only times I’ve stepped foot into a food bank have been to volunteer or donate.
Often times life events interfere. I was saddened and initially embarrassed to need help but I did need it and reconciled that my son’s well being was more important than my pride. I used as long as I needed then stopped.
Kharn., you are fortunate to have led such a blessed life that you have not needed assistance.
Mr Burbey,
I don’t consider my life to be fortunate or blessed.
I put every ounce of food in the pantry by working hard at the job I had at that moment, while watching spending and having realistic expectations. If those are attributes only available by blessing or fortune, our society is lost.
Mr. Burbey,
So that we can have a basis for your statement, what were the circumstances that caused you to rely on the charity of others and WIC? Were you a HCPS teacher at the time? Had you had a family tragedy? Were your expenses exceeding your income? Were you owning, renting, or stayiong with others at the time? Were you married or single? Without this backup info you are simply feeding the group that feels that entitlement programs are a bust.
JJ
Clearly you are unfamiliar with WIC…….School age children are not eligible for WIC!!!!!
Correct. The program for school age children is Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). Both programs provide assistance to feed children. If you receive this assistance then you should be feeding your children. They should not have to eat at school.
SNAP or Supplemental Nutrional Assistence Program. Is not specific to children!!!!!!! Please read the USDA web sites about this before spewing non-sense!
notice the word Supplemental!
After the food stamps, WIC and school meals I’m just so full – can’t imagine having room for a supplemental.
True, it is not specific to children, but it is a program that covers school age children.
Again, if you are receiving money to feed your children at home, why must they receive free meals at school? Prepare and feed them breakfast, and send them to school with their lunch. My parents did.
SNAP is food stamps!!!! This illustrates that you really have no clue what you are talking about.
SNAP eligibility includes household income, number in household (including children) and certain deductions, to determine the amount of assistance. Yes it is food stamps. Food for each of the household members (including children) for which it is distributed. Again, if you receive this assistance, you should feed your children breakfast at home and send them to school with their lunch. My parents did.
Barbara, in that income they count they count meal benefits such as FARMS as income. So essentially it is reducing your SNAP benefits.
Cdev:
Head Start and Early Head Start take care of children from ~2.5 to 5 years, and each attendee automatically receives free food at the school.
Not all kids qualify for Head Start who are on WIC.
True, but those who do get free food at school.
That is a very small percentage of the total. For the most part WIC does not cover school age children!
The point is there are multiple layers of food assistance – many of which overlap. There are usually multiple kids in these free food households so if you have a block of WIC cheese pretty much consumed by all in the home. Then of course the free cheese comes with a phone w 1000 minutes/month paid for by the poor saps who are ridiculed and called worse for ever complaining. EBT grocery lists always heavy on cookies and instant, easy crap. Gosh when you’re sitting around all day who has time to cook.
We should give lots of money to the multiple families created by an unwed father who has no interest in caring for any of his own. Social Justice prevails!!? Yeah!!!!
Is that you Bristol Palin? Can’t you and the kid just move on?
Mr Burbey,
The best way to put it is “poor people have poor ways,” so when a parent decides to buy their child brand-name shoes instead of Cheerios, chicken and rice, or a 65″ TV instead of a computer and printer, that is why they are in poverty and their malnourished child will almost certainly continue the cycle.
Trying to coddle people that make such choices only reinforces their behavior, it does not push them to change. When a parent has to divide the food at the grocery store into WIC vs non-WIC, but their child is wearing brand-new $150 sneakers, it is not a sign of charity, it is a sign of wanton abuse of the system. We’re now on fifth generation families on the dole, programs that were meant as a hand-up during hard times have become lifetime hand-outs.
Maybe you should take some time to volunteer with Aberdeen Fire Department so you can go inside the houses of some of your former students and see how they live? I bet many of them have nicer stuff than your teacher friends.
Again your comments are bigoted, and uninformed. You apparently lack the simple compassion necessary to empathize with even a child. I would feel sorry for you if you weren’t so brazen in your ignorance and extreme viewpoint. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Burbrey –
Nothing Kharn said was bigoted.
You race-baiting son of female dog.
I will visit with you and I will remind of you of this conversation to your face. We will see how brave you are at that time.
big·ot·ed
?big?tid/Submit
adjective
1.
having or revealing an obstinate belief in the superiority of one’s own opinions and a prejudiced intolerance of the opinions of others.
“a bigoted group of reactionaries”
synonyms: prejudiced, biased, partial, one-sided, sectarian, discriminatory;
Ryan,
The word could very well apply to you. Calling someone a bigot because they have a viewpoint other than yours is in itself bigoted.
BIGOTED: Marx speak for I disagree.
Burbrey –
I think most people know what you mean when you disparage Kharn as a Bigot.
Look forward to discussing this in person with you and we’ll see how brave you are at that time.
Mr Burbey,
Is it wrong to believe that it is a man’s primary responsibility to ensure he is employable and willing to do an honest day’s work for a day’s wage so he can afford to feed his family?
For every hungry child there is a father who has failed to meet his obligations. But that doesn’t mean I dislike the child or want to see them harmed. I volunteer, I donate, I’ve slept on a sidewalk with just a plastic sheet for comfort so I could learn what it was like to be homeless. I still view anyone who can’t feed their child as a failure.
Children who are suffering deserve help, but that help should not be provided in a way that it can be abused by their parents. Bring back the government cheese, but don’t give the parents one block for the child to eat, only to give the kid another block at school so the parents can sell or misuse the first.
Mr. Kharn,
Just because you have slept on the sidewalk to feel what it is like to be homeless does not mean that you have fully experienced what it is like to actually be homeless. Your pseudo-empathy disgusts me. To say that a parent is a failure in the way that you are saying is incompassionate. There are many situations in which a parent would suddenly be unable to fully meet the needs of the children. You need to remember that these times are tumultuous. Unemployment is rampant due to outsourcing. Even supposedly simple jobs like McDonalds aren’t hiring like they used to. A lot of employers are now requiring upwards of Bachelors degrees for jobs that didn’t used to have it as a requirement just because they can. If a family were faced with downsizing of both parents’ jobs, the financial effect would be devastating. You need to think about your hard-line stance on this topic and realize that there is more to these families than the sterotypes that you think you know about.
Mr. Burbey, you keep telling him to be ashamed for stating common sense behavior. We know that some children are in desperate need; what Kharn is speaking of are parents who are not putting their children first. They are abusing the system, and there’s a difference. My husband and I chose to stop at two children because of finances. Should we have six instead because the government will subsidize them? Should I be ashamed at couponing to send my children in with a decent packed lunch, when they may be eligible for reduced lunches? It’s not the safety net that people complain about, it’s the abuse of it, and it’s not shameful to discuss waste.
your mom smokes dope
You don’t get it – you label them “poor.” The only thing that’s poor and will never be fixed is their decision-making. The fact that they are sporting those shoes and phone and then pawn off their kid as needy is completely fraudulent. If they stopped squandering their cash and simply lived within their means, Junior would have plenty in his belly. This is nothing more than another micromanagement scam by our government to make people feel good. It is no longer a safety net program, it’s a free this, free that program, but we all know it’s not free!
I agree with you Mr. Burbey.
Its unfair those with low income get free meals, everyone should be entitled for free meals. Social justice for all!
The FARMS program feeds kids that don’t qualify, too. My son in Middle School is entitled to receive a FREE breakfast everyday at school. (I promise you that my family does NOT qualify for any assistance programs.) It is my understanding that it is because his school qualifies for Title I funding or something of that nature.
I think the point that the some of the program’s detractors are making is that our tax dollars fund so many programs that overlap one another that there is by nature a huge amount of waste. There will always be, by nature, those who will game the system and milk it for all it’s worth.
Rather than expanding the assistance programs, there ought to be a level of oversight to ensure that waste and fraud are kept to an absolute minimum.
jtowne jeff, You are correct MMS qualifies for the breakfast program because over a certian percentage of the school (40?) is qualified for free and reduced meals.
So the theory here is my neighbor is poor therefore since I’m in physical proximity to poverty so qualify for free food? My neighbor has a Mercedes…if I go stand really close to their house when are they bringing my new car?
At some percent of the population, it becomes cheaper and easier for the school to just give everyone free food vs try to account for it, receive payments, audit the payments, etc.
And unfortunately, there are many children in society whose parents are complete pieces of trash and the only meals their kids eat are breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday. Ask an inner-city teacher what the worst day of the month is, and they’ll tell you the first morning after a 3-day weekend, because the students haven’t begun to digest their breakfast and are starving due to going without food for 3 days vs the normal 2.
But the parents receive assistance as if the kid was eating at home 21 meals per week.
Kharn,
Your sweeping over -generalization is offensive and bigoted. There are many reasons why holidays and long weekends are tough for many at-risk inner city kids. I was an inner city teacher. Many of the parents were working as hard as they could but still were unable to get ahead. Not everyone’s life is as easy as yours apparently has been.
I think not feeding your children for 3 days in a row (or even 2) is called child abuse.
Burbey classifies the recipient class as hardworking, but Kharn who has worked hard to not have to live off the government “has it easy”
Clearly Mr. Burbey has gotten over his pride of taking from others since he feels so entitled to whats in your wallet to this day.
Trillions have been spent fighting poverty, yet it still exists. More so now then ever before. Modern day slavery, but it’s okay because they are good little democrat voters.
B, are you saying Kharn has no need for any government service?
Another interesting point is ALL students who buy lunch are in some way subsidized by FARMS. a school lunch costs $2 at the secondary level. DO you really think that the lunch on the tray only costs $2 including the labor component? The remaining money comes from FARMS. Some students recieve an added benefit of a lower or reduced price or for free. This benefit is counted as income under SNAP!
In other words if Money Tree or Kharn’s kids or grand kids buy school lunch…..they too are eating a government subsidized meal!!!!!
Why would I pay $2 per meal when I can send my kids to school with food they’ll actually eat for much less money? Not every kid is happy with Mrs Obama’s ideas of what or how much they should eat, and many still love peanut butter.
Kharn make a bag lunch for less than $2. I challenge you!!!!! Please itemize the list!
Today was peanut butter & jelly sandwich, apple, a chunk of brie, pita chips, celery with peanut butter and raisins, small thermos of milk (with ice pack), and two Hersheys kisses. Buying in bulk, using food we already eat and refusing to give them pre-made crap makes it easy.
I agree it does. The cafeteria buys in bulk. That said Does that lunch cost less than $2. You can’t say the peanut butter was stuff we already had. Using only the items and figuring out a ratio of cost to amount used was it more than $2? I would bet it was. The reason cafeteria lunch is as cheap as it is , is because it is all subsidized! Even the full price kids are getting a government subsidy.
Cdev is right even though he doesn’t spell so well.
We should have all children eating for free and welfare families of 4 should have $6000 a year to spend on food of their choice.
We can fund this with increased taxes on the rest of the population who pay taxes.
The US should be more like the European nations that care for their people.
If you suggest any benefit or subsidy eliminates any right to criticize the system I’d suggest to you having worked for 45 years and paid generous taxes the entire time any small subsidy along the way was and is welcomed. I still paid for my kids lunches and several other families lunches too. We’re talking about an entitlement lifestyle that is destroying us financially and morally. Other people didn’t feed, clothe or have to repeatedly arrest my kids.
You can criticize subsidies but you are a hypocirt if you demonize a child for needing one while you take one and preach that government subsidization is evil, which is what you are doing. You are essentially saying no free lunch for you to a 3rd grader but I can take free lunch!
BTW if your kids ever bought school lunch…..other people did help feed your kid. Even if they paid full price. Other people helped pay for the education of your kids. Other people helped pay for you to live in a free country protected by a great military. To suggest you need no government and could have kept all your taxes and paid for it yourself is dillusional!
Delusional is comparing people who live in a country with a slew of services and programs who never contribute a thin dime to the costs vs. people who’ve spent their entire lives funding the morass. If you don’t get the difference heaven help you.
how many people never contribute a dime as you say? Evryone pays taxes. I paid 20K in come taxes to Federal State and local alone this year. I however do not pretend for a minute that alone pays for all the benefits I recieve. Even interestr on my overpayment of 10K and the money in other taxes doesn’t cut it.
First of all nobody is demonizing children, but the parents of children who have created a multigenerational lifestyle of dependency. Wondering aloud why a “parent” can’t get up in the morning and pour the “free” cereal for thier little ticket to the gravy train hardly constitutes demonizing kids. I think a home visit is in order for any kids getting subsidized school meals but have mom’s on assistance, and qualified for other food programs. If these moms can’t feed thier kids, can’t get it together enough to move thier legs one in front of the other to the refrigerator and manage to pour milk on cereal somebody needs to find out if they’re fit to parent.
Home visit by whom? Have you ever had to look this poverty in the face? II have not just the urban poverty but the rural poverty. The Mountian kid who lives in a one room shack and hords food. The kid whose only meals come from these programs. Is there some abuse. I am sure just like there is abuse at the base exchange. Want to fix it. Go ahead but to use the worn out Reagan cliche of welfare queens is simply ignorant. SNAP benefits count FARMS benefits as income for determining eligibility. Just like they count Social Security benefits. You are acting like large numbers of these people choose to be poor. Is poverty cyclical….sure but austerity is not going to fix it. Do I think a free lunch will solve it? not alone, but now the kid can stop thinking about being hungry and start learning and than there is some hope.
Do you believe all 20 million kids on free lunch are from welfare queen families? Which States do you think have the largest percentage FARMS kids…..hint most of them do not have alot of urban areas!!!!
I’d be happy to investigate food stamp abuse. Deputize me and give me the list of families with kids getting free food at school and also qualifying for other food assistance programs. I would be happy to do home visits, unannounced – inventory what’s in the fridge vs. the liquor cabinet, inventory the number of people living in the free house because often it’s far more than they tell the Section 8 landlord. Ask for the receipts on monthly purchases for food – I’d create categories for allowable foods on the “free” programs that did not include anything prepackaged like candies and cookies. Find out where the study areas are in the home, where the boyfriend lives, who handles the chores, etc. I’d link qualifying for assistance to giving up your right to ward off outside interference from the state. I’d reeducate social workers to reorient thier work towards protecting taxpayer dollars, rather than digging up more free stuff for whomever waddles their way into HHS. If it means receiving assistance feels like a stigma and makes someone uncomfortable then the work is being done properly. The goal ought to be pushing people into adopting taking care of themselves as the best strategy.
@jtownejeff, you are absolutely correct. The idea behind the program is that children who come to school hungry are not able to learn. Over time these children face all kinds of problems, such as underachievement, behavioral issues, growth and development problems and the like.
In a nation, state, and county as rich as ours, we still have tremendous poverty. Some families are truly struggling and doing the best they can. Others are masters at working the system. We have children who come to school on a daily basis who are parentified kids, some taking care of younger siblings, because their parent is not available due to drug and alcohol abuse. These are the kids we cannot forget despite how we feel about their parents. Everyone eats a breakfast in the classroom so it does not stigmatized the ones in need. Many of them do not want to be singled out and if that were the case, studies show these kids will not get their breakfast. They just want to be like the other kids.
I’m not surprised that our county lags far behind other jurisdictions in serving the capacity of youth needed. I used to work in a related state program and couldn’t even get the food director to return my call. That is when the program first started. I really am fed up with the arrogant, pompous attitudes of many of our key officials while our mist vulnerable citizens continue to lose valuable opportunities to raise their condition.
I think the most ignorant and assumed comment I’ve seen is that kids on these programs somehow have parents with Escalades and Air Jordans. While there is waste, and trust me that can be said for a lot of Federal programs. That child who is on this program most likely lives right next door to you whether your in a gated community, townhome, etc. The fact is you have hidden poverty throughout Harford County whether it be someone trying to keep up with the Jones’s while they haven’t paid their mortgage for 8 months and are waiting for eviction/foreclosure, or families living paycheck to paycheck. Trust me whether you are in Joppa, Bel Air, Abingdon, etc…. SNAP, WIC, and other program families are all around you. The ignorance is that some feel as though its not in “their backyard”.
The teachers of Harford County know this and you’d be surprised. So before you equate SNAP and WIC to Escalades and Air Jordans, do understand that WIC as a support is provided to those in Uniform (which is another debate for military members even having to go that route versus talks of cutting their benefits) and others. The crazy thing about poverty is you can’t paint it with a broad brush, and unfortunately the current DC folks want to say that the employment rate is going down like its a party, but he fact is its more part time jobs (folks holding down 2 and 3 at a time).
Talk to a teacher, trust me you’ll learn alot about just what type of kids benefit from free meals. And they are all not in escalades my folks!
You are fighting the old Ronald Reagen image of the “welfare queen” and we all need to hate her. You will not change their minds, they care nothing about feeding a child till it suddenly one day is theirs that needs help. My guess is, most that are against this are a few pay checks away from being homeless themselves.
All public assistance to women of child bearing age should come with mandatory monthly depo-provera shots. If they would stop having children that others have to feed we’d all be better off!
Why don’t we just chemically castrate all of the uneducated and jobless men/boys out there while we’re at it.
Well, Depo shots wear off – castration doesn’t! If a reversible option for men existed I’d be for that too. Folks can get their acts together and learn to support themselves but until they can I shouldn’t have to feed, clothe, house, provide “free” healthcare etc for more babies.
Vesectomies are reversible!
Because just like in farming, if you don’t castrate every single male in the population (and exclude outside intruders), you’re still going to get offspring.
Right On Homey
I have no problem with people who meet the criteria for food assistance and take part in these programs. But isn’t it just that, a government program? Which should come with education and oversight?If it is a “Nutrition” program, then why are parents allowed to buy non-nutritious foods and junk foods with their EBT cards? i have seen, on several occasions, women with grocery carts loaded up with sodas, chips, packaged cookies and the like. I think the whole program needs an overhaul!
There is an education component. Read the USDA website!
Because students need more education on fats and carbs being bad, and how everyone should just live off of rainbows and unicorn farts. Students will not become properly nourished just because they received another pamphlet to take home to their parents.
Unicorn farts have vertually no calories…or flavor!!!!!
Since when is it the puble school systems job to feed kids. I can remember not having breakfast and taking only one slice of bread with butter on it for luch when I was a kid. It didn’t stunt my growth or educatiion. I have a BA degree in aviation and flew F4 fighter jets in Vietnam war. This is justice another social welfare program to keep citizens dependant on the government. Keeps the same old cronies in power. No one would vote for someone that wanted to take the goodies away.
Didn’t mind getting your cut of the pie the federal government was handing out growing up but God forbid they feed a child.
Feeding our kids is important, but it isn’t going to make them better learners. if so, we would still be at or near the top of international testing for math science and reading. instead, we give them more than ever and we keep falling farther and farther down the list. maybe it’s time the public education system gets overhauled. because the current one clearly isn’t working for the majority of our children. at least not to the degree it should.
TSB, you are entirely wrong. There is evidence-based research that supports the notion that children who receive proper nutrition,which is necessary for growth and development, surpass youth in cognitive skills as measureed by IQ scores, than children with less than optimal nutrition. This has to do with brain development, which is critical during the first five years of a child’s life. That is why WIC is so important.
I am pretty conservative but when it comes to wary childhood, we need to invest in our youth.
Rather than depo provera,we need to be asking why there are so many absentee fathers out there who father many children, all with different mothers and don’t pay child support. That’s the real issue here.
This isn’t about WIC, WIC isn’t for school aged children. And, I stated that feeding the children is important.
My statement was more about the excess of continued handouts yet the failing of the system to truly educate.
Feeding could make them better learners if done properly. If a student answers a question correctly in class, they get a graham cracker. A passing grade on a quiz earns a pancake. Soon they will realize that learning is the best way to deal with their hunger.
This comment reminds me of something Dwight on the Office would say
Furthermore INternational testing means squat until we control for testing samples. All of the countries on the typical international lists that people cite do not educate special needs kids, don’t test them and have rooted out poor achievers by the grade that is tested. Additionally a small sample of kids in Massachusets and Florida is not representative of the entire country!
To “jack Rabbit says”, if your comment is directed towards me, you can kiss my a$$. I’ve never taken a government handout, you are a liberal punk.
You got no Government handouts? That’s funny…I’m helping to pay your government pension. I bet you even got the government to subsidize your college education.
He has a gov job…WOW..Think maybe he is providing as service, that maybe allowing you to have a job???..Sleep safely at night?? Looks out for your childs welfare??? You sure are “Clueless”… Oh and how many of your friends or relatives work for the gov..Does the word “bigot” ring a bell????
I have no problem paying taxes for military, police, fire and emt.
I am not paying one more dime to people who can’t buy a condom, take some personal responsibility and stop expecting me to pay for your lazy and dumb a$$eS.
Just so we are clear. The government educated you, gave you 3 meals a day, put a roof over your head and gave you a paycheck every week and you don’t consider any of that as a handout?
Hey tough guy how about you go to the local elementary school and take the breakfast away from a 5 year old. This countries future is depending on you.
I would rather go put my foot right up the backside of that 5 year olds mom and pop for having sent them to school without feeding them. The number of posters on here who are OK with parents not fulfilling their parental responsibilities is astonishing. Since when is it OK for parents to not feed their children?
That meal and roof were part of the paycheck as part of the military. Damn you’re stupid. Can’t fix that.
Really? Do you use the VA? What pays for that? Did you shop at the Exchange or Comisary? Who pays for that? Buy gas on base? Wonder why the price is cheaper?
you can change your name to “Clueless2”
Clueless? How so? Commisary goods are discounted because the government subsidizes them for soilders. So essentially it is a government benift.
I believe commissary goods are sold at cost, thus the reduction in price over goods sold in the local stores. The Commissary is an appropriated fund entity.
Veterans earned those privileges by serving their country for years, not simply standing in line to talk to a case worker.
The commissary charges cost plus a small percentage, just because their profit is lower than a public store’s does not mean they always have the best deal (as they do not have loss-leaders), and the gas is set by averaging the price for the same grade at all stations within five miles.
I am not saying he didn’t earn those benefits but he claimed that he never recieved any govt help. When he uses those facilities he is recieving govt help!!!!! He wants to ridicule the 3rd grader for eating a free breakfast while he uses govt benefits all the time!!!!
Additionally looking at some of the things sold at the exchange that are subsidized like gaming consols do you feel that is a needed benefit? Or is that a luxury?
CDEV: do you EVER post anything that exhibits common sense, or a modicum of understanding of the real world. It’s quite surreal.
Yes, do you think that a Play Station is a needed benefit to be subsidized by the government at the base exchange?
The exchange isn’t subsidized. They just charge a Congressionally-mandated percentage (Somewhere around 8%) vs other stores having a 30+% mark up. That is why items can be cheaper there.
No entity receives more financial assistance per capita from the Federal Government than the sons and daughters of CEOs.
hey jack Rabbit says, i got 3 meals a day, a roof over my head and a pay check in the air force, thats called working., not a handout. You are a typical liberal, when you can’t argue facts, you result to name calling. I never claimed to be a tough guy, I’m just someone who actually worked for a living, not like you. Parents should be responsible for feeding their kids, not tax payers. Try getting a job and paying taxes once in your life.
perhaps you should have been responsible for feeding yourself…..not taxpayers. My job doesn’t give me meals!!!!
As someone who falls more on the conservative way of thinking, I agree that adults should be responsible for themselves, and do what they can to work and make a living. Unfortunately, in our current society, many people have figured out that one can make a living out of staying home and collecting a benefit check.
Whatever we do, we cannot let innocent children fall through the cracks because their parents can’t or won’t provide for them. That is another topic worthy for discussion.
About 10 years ago, there was a major federal and state initiative (Welfare to Work) to get as many people off of the welfare roles as possible and into training and gainful employment opportunities. There was always the concern that a certain segment of the population would always be dependent on the system and that indeed occurred. However, in Maryland many people were able to exit the welfare program, saving the state significant dollars. All of the gains made at that time seem to have been lost, it seems, with all kinds of entitlements we are currently seeing. Obamacare is a prime example, with many people jumping on the Medical Assistance bandwagon at the expense of the taxpayer and astonishingly, no way for the system to verify eligibility of these people. I know of people who have tried to sign up for insurance and are having difficulty finding an affordable plan that provides them a modicum of insurance, while others milking the system are able to access their medical coverage and care free of charge.
I can’t believe teachers do not donate some of their paychecks to needy children. Shame on you.
My wifes school uses the jeans day money to fund buying lunch for kids who are short money so the cafeteria doesn’t have to take it back. They also collect money at christmas and buy gifts for the needy kids and their sibblings.
Is the Jeans Day money part of the teachers paycheck? What is Jeans Day money?
Paychecks, not a little this and that.
Open your wallets up, children need the money more than you.
Cdev,
Maybe the teachers should dress professionally every day and donate the money out of the goodness of their hearts instead of in the interest of comfort?
Or what’s next? Pay $10 and get to wear sweatpants and a t-shirt?
Maybe HCPS should pay better, than they could afford nice clothes all week!
Tide is not that expensive.
or donate all the millions of dollars the teachers union pumps in to democratic candidate’s pockets every election to feed hungry kids
Cdev says, you are just as big a liberal as “jack rabbit says”. Evidently if your log on name ends is “says” you are cut from the same cloth. You are making assumptions of me that you have no idea what you are talking about. I do not use the VA or commisary. Know what you are talking about before you spew your liberal sh*t
You said you where in the military. These are benefits that are offered to you. Do you use any of them? Or do you put your money where your mouth is, shop at normal stores, pay for all your own healthcare and not rely on the subsidized benefits you are offered? Are you using tricare at all?
No I do not use the commissary or VA. I think the VA should spend their money and assests on disabled veterans, some one who has paid the sacrifice. ( just my opinion) I am self employed, I pay for my own Blue Cross and I shop at local stores. Even when I was active, I found local stores were cheaper on groceries than the commissary.
Amen to that.
You would be the rare exception to former military personel.
I guess I am, thats’s the way I was raised. I did my time and left it behind. My philosophy is that the more you get from someone, the more accountable you are to them. The more accountable you are, the less freedom you have. It’s either do it their way or they will threaten to take something away.
He is in no way an exception to most “former” military personnel. Almost all of the former military personnel I know do not use the base facilities or the VA medical facilities. I do know a few retired military who use the Commissary and Exchange from time to time, but even they use local stores and gas stations more than they use the on base facilities.
So do you think the exchange should be selling subsidized gaming equipment?
So “rjbaskins says” :)you think people military personnel who use the VA and commissary are liberal
NO, I never said or implicated that. I think peope like you who think military personnel are on some kind of gravy train at tax payers expense are the liberal ones.
BTW “says” is added to everyones comments. I also never said what you attributed to me!
Maybe instead of wasting “feel goodness” of another lame teacher of the year event, they could cancel it and put all the money towards something else, like money towards the student s who really need it? Eh, nah, the kangaroo show at the havre de grace restaurant sounds better.
Not positive but that is funded by outside donations I think.
CDEV: do you EVER post anything that exhibits common sense, or a modicum of understanding of the real world. It’s quite surreal.
If you were in the Air Froce you were taking a hand out from the goverment for doing nothing
Especially if you get discomfort pay for living on a Joint Navy Base because you have to cut your own grass.
Looks like the bottom line as mentioned is to just give every student free meals, as said earlier, it would eliminate years of worthless paperwork, eliminate worthless job titles to go over the paperwork, the biggest thing it would eliminate the leeches who are milking this particular affair dry
Liberals! Now is the time to shine, equal social justice for all. Bring on a new era where every public education student gets free meals.
Schools should not be intolerant (buzzword) to those parents who can provide their own kids school lunches, therefore every student will receive equality.