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Superintendent reads county food‑service inspection reports; district says issues were corrected
Summary
The superintendent read Westchester County inspection reports for multiple school kitchens, noting noncritical sanitation and storage violations at elementary sites and a training-related critical temperature issue at the middle school; the district said on-site corrections were made and announced a health and wellness committee to oversee follow-up.
Superintendent-level staff read into the record summaries of recent Westchester County Public Health Department food-service inspections at Hendrick Hudson facilities and described corrective steps taken.
The presentation named Delana Wong as the inspecting sanitarian and summarized findings at multiple buildings. At Buchanan Ver Plank the inspector recorded no critical violations but noted a gap in metal paneling between a sink and a walk-in refrigerator that impeded cleaning; the district said it sealed the gap. At Furnace Woods the inspector reported noncritical issues including "shipping film" on a refrigeration unit that prevented adequate cleaning, missing handwashing signage, and a small number of rodent droppings in dry storage; staff said they swept and sanitized the area and use extermination services on retainer.
At Frank G. Lindsey inspectors noted food stored on the floor and shelving without the required 6-inch clearance, plus a 3-bay sink not sealed to the wall; staff and facilities are coordinating fixes. The superintendent emphasized that when inspectors train new sanitarians they flag more items for documentation even if the staff corrects them during the visit.
The presentation also described a critical temperature finding at Blue Mountain Middle School: when barbecue sauce was applied to rib sandwiches, the sauce lowered the food's temperature and the inspector classified that as a potential foodborne-illness risk. The inspector provided immediate corrective options to staff (reheat with the sauce on, or reheat then apply sauce) and the issue was resolved on site, but it remained recorded as a critical violation because of the risk.
District staff told the board that all cited violations in the reports presented were addressed to the inspector's satisfaction during the visits and that no reinspections were required. Administrators also announced an action item: reinstating a district health and wellness committee (required by New York State) that will include parents, staff, health professionals and first responders to review health and safety complaints, indoor air quality, pest management, and capital project inspections.
Next steps: the district said it will follow up on the remaining reports for the high school and middle school (which were not yet received at the time of the meeting) and will stand up the health and wellness committee.
