Rumor Mill-5492

Published September 27, 2013

The purpose of this section is to answer any questions parents, teachers or community members might have regarding the school district and to set the record straight in regards to any rumors that might be circulating.

If you have a question or have heard a rumor that you would like for us to address, simply SEND US your questions and we will respond to them in upcoming issues of InFocus. Below are some of the questions we have received since our last issue.

Due to the heavy influx of new students in our school systems the last two years, why doesn't the school system require yearly proof of residency?

WCS believes it is unfair to require more than 33,000 families living in the county to bring in proof of residence with utility bills every year. The procedure for checking proof of residency has been to examine all students new to the district and those who are changing schools within the district. For example, students moving from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school must show proof of residence at the new school. For the most part, this process has been effective.

There have been cases of families who have falsified records in order to remain at a school or to attend out of zone or out of county. Falsifying an in-county address to a school is described by Tennessee law as a civil fraud. WCS investigates any claim that alleges a student does not live in the district.

If parents have any information about a child enrolled in the district who may not live in Williamson County, they should contact their principal. Residents may also call the district's fraud hotline at 472-5555 and leave an anonymous message.

I have a question about the school lunches at the elementary and middle school levels. I completely agree that we need to be serving more fruits and vegetables. I also completely agree that we need to be concerned about childhood obesity.

So why was all salt removed, which really had nothing to do with childhood obesity, and every entree is unhealthy? If you look at the menus, we are serving pizza, chicken nuggets, pasta, etc. over and over all month. These are the kinds of foods that are contributing to childhood obesity, and yet they are there every day. I know this is not the fault of the school cafeteria manager. She can only do what she is told to do.

Has anyone addressed all the starchy foods that are served daily, or tried to come up with healthier entrees? My concern is for those students who depend on their lunch at school to be their healthiest meal of the day. In some cases the school lunch is no different than lunch at a fast food restaurant.

All of the WCS menus meet and exceed the current USDA standards and recommendations from the Institute of Medicine. Calories for planned elementary menus are 550-650; middle schools are 600-700; and the high schools are 750-850.

All of the menus are designed to be less than 35 percent in total fat and less than 10 percent saturated fat (WCS has a zero transfat policy as well). All of the grains served are whole grains and the WCS Food Service Department is always looking for ways to reduce sodium.

Williamson County schools meet the health standards set forth by the USDA, but it takes constant attention to provide healthy meals the students will want to eat. WCS can put out the healthiest items but if the students will not take them then it is a loss to everyone. That being said, the WCS Food Service Department will always look for ways to improve service to students.

With all the talk of a new high school in our area, someone mentioned that there were blue prints already drawn up for a new wing at Ravenwood? Is that true and if so why would they not build on instead of adding more portables?

There are no plans to add a new wing to Ravenwood High School.