Student petitions for vegetarian lunches; community member questions cost and value of MLK III assembly

Two public-comments speakers addressed the board during the Feb. 11 meeting: a second‑grade student from Baker School who presented a petition requesting vegetarian lunch options, and a community member who questioned district spending on a recent assembly featuring Martin Luther King III.

Isabella, a second-grade Baker student, said she collected 112 signatures at her school asking the district to provide vegetarian lunch choices at Baker. She said Monday and Thursday meals there currently leave her with cold options and that middle- and high-school students have vegetarian choices that Baker students do not. The superintendent, Dr. Bossert, thanked Isabella for speaking and said the district will discuss meal planning with the school nutrition director and administrators to consider her request.

Later, David Levy addressed the board, referencing the recent visit by Martin Luther King III to multiple district schools. Levy said he and others found the assemblies “uninspiring” and questioned whether the community’s funds were used prudently. He urged the board to consider reallocating funds toward student-facing programs such as science research, substitutes or club sponsoring. Board members acknowledged Levy’s concerns and said the district will provide a formal response via the board’s established follow-up processes.

No immediate board action was taken on either public comment; the superintendent and board indicated staff would follow up on the lunch request and that the board’s process enables constituents to receive formal responses.