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Resident urges MCOE to hire a dietitian, raises shop‑teacher benefit and safety concerns
Summary
Petra Scholte told the board a prior grand jury recommended hiring a dietitian to support culinary and nutrition programming and described a Mendocino High School shop teacher working 0.4 FTE who now pays about $3,000/month for health insurance, creating workload and safety concerns as class sizes grew.
Petra Scholte, a retired nutrition educator, urged the Mendocino County Office of Education board to consider hiring a registered dietitian to support culinary and nutrition programs across the county, citing a previous grand jury recommendation. Scholte said such a position had existed in the past through ROP and that a dietitian had supported culinary teachers in multiple districts.
Scholte also reported concerns raised at a Mendocino High School open house about a woodshop teacher who works 0.4 FTE and therefore lacks full health‑insurance benefits; she said the teacher now faces roughly $3,000 a month in premiums and that class sizes have grown from four to about fifteen students, which she described as a “safety issue” with increased machinery use. The board followed with clarifying questions about FTE calculations and local dietitian availability and thanked the commenter for bringing the matter to the board’s attention.
