Western Heights School District To Bring Back Canceled Child Nutrition Program Following Criticism

Starting Wednesday hungry children will start receiving free meals two days after Western Heights Public Schools stopped feeding them. The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) announced Tuesday a partnership that’s helping to keep the child

Tuesday, April 7th 2020, 5:34 pm



Starting Thursday hungry children will start receiving free meals two days after Western Heights Public Schools stopped feeding them.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) announced Tuesday a partnership that’s helping to keep the child nutrition program intact.

While OSDE got the ball rolling with Hunger Free Oklahoma and the Regional Food Bank, the superintendent of Western Heights said it was a solution they could have reached on their own.

“We work with the Regional Food Bank all the time we probably would have went to them to see how we could get meals,” said Western Heights Superintendent Mannix Barnes.

The district's abrupt decision to stop preparing and delivering free meals drew sharp and immediate criticism from both State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt.

Superintendent Mannix Barnes fired back.

“These folks like Mayor Holt or Hofmeister, if they want to sit there and make statements in the media then they need to put these gloves on and this mask, and I’ve got two positions for them on the front lines to go out and deliver meals with us,” said Supt. Barnes.

Barnes said the decision was to protect against COVID-19. He said a lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) leaves too many uncertainties. He said that includes where families went on the recent spring break. 

"And I believe that Superintendent Hofmeister has a duty to provide adequate PPE to our workers," said Supt. Barnes. "If she wants to continue barking and giving orders from the comforts of her home that everyone needs to work in an unsafe position or she will remove funding and accreditation from your school. She has yet to show up or volunteer to help on the frontline. Typical politician who wants everyone else to do the work but is not willing to do it herself." 

The superintendent said there isn't enough support staff to get the meals packed and delivered.

While he said many have opted to stay home out of fear of exposure, support staff told News 9 they're willing to do whatever it takes to feed their kids.

“We have enough dedicated drivers that we would do it off the clock,” said one support staff employee.

Supt. Barnes claimed the drivers aren't the issue and instead it's finding people to hand out the food. 

He told News 9 the state supt. promised to find workers that were willing to hand out food but, so far, has failed to deliver. Supt. Barnes said Wednesday they will be talking with the district's staff to see how many are willing to go out.

"So we will be talking to our workers who are very dedicated but are scared," said Supt. Barnes. "They first need quality masks and gloves for this type of contact and delivery of meals. We are not taking the easy way out like most schools who are just showing up with meals on site and making people drive thru. We are in the neighborhoods delivering by buses. Our workers and district want to deliver meals but at what cost? We already have one workers who has been quarantined for possible exposure to COVID 19, now I guess Hofmeister wants to continue to possibly spread the virus to others so she can a have a feel good moment on TV."

Hofmeister's office is also criticizing the rollout of the district's distance learning program. In a letter to the district, her staff said they were delaying their distance learning plan. 

According to the district website, there were more requests for physical learning packets. Due to cost, the district decided to not mail the material as planned. Instead the updates said the packets would be available at a later date. 

Supt. Barnes claims everything else went as planned except for issues with Zoom that were nation-wide. 

As for feeding students, the food banks will continue helping through April 22 when the district gets prepackaged meals.

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