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Student ambassador tells board lunches run short, bathrooms need repairs and seniors want cap-decorations
Summary
A student ambassador told the board Quest lunch quality and supply for upperclassmen are inadequate, highlighted multiple bathroom maintenance problems, and urged clarity on graduation-cap decorations; students also asked the district to consider a boys volleyball team.
A student ambassador told the Urbana School District 116 board that recent cafeteria service and building maintenance are affecting student experience and asked the district to respond.
On food service, the student said Quest’s offerings have declined from earlier promises: "students deserve balanced meals ... recently pretzels have been served as an entree," and reported that popular entrees — pizza, chicken sandwiches and burgers — are often unavailable to juniors and seniors by the time they arrive at lunch. The ambassador said a policy change now ties fries to purchase of an entree, which leaves some students without desired sides when entrees run out.
The student also raised facility concerns: several girls' bathrooms have stall doors that do not close and at least two bathrooms have only a single working sink, creating bottlenecks and forcing students to walk to other floors to find usable facilities.
On graduation traditions, seniors said they wanted the option to decorate caps; the ambassador requested an explanation of the district policy that currently prohibits cap decoration and asked the board to clarify the rule and rationale.
Finally, the student reported interest among high-school boys in forming a boys volleyball team. The ambassador said staff (Mr. Guzman and Mr. Waller) have been informed and that funding decisions would go to a supplemental-pay committee that includes teachers and administrators.
Board members and staff responded that district liaisons are meeting with Quest and that the district has started monthly meetings with the vendor to address food-quality concerns. Staff also noted that supplemental-pay and funding decisions for new athletic teams will be made through the district process and may require redistributing funds from other activities.
The board did not take a vote on any policy change at the meeting; the student ambassador's comments were placed on the public record for staff follow-up.
