AURORA | Controversy swirled around local school lunches last week after an elementary lunch lady said she was fired for giving free food to hungry kids — a claim district officials dispute.
The fired kitchen manager, Della Curry, was let go from her job at Dakota Valley Elementary School in Aurora on May 29.
After Curry’s story made national headlines — she appeared on CNN, “Good Morning America” and in USA Today — critics of her firing hounded Cherry Creek School District officials, with some threatening the school.
Tustin Amole, a spokeswoman for CCSD, said district leaders took the unusual tact of posting a school resource police officer at Dakota Valley last week as a precaution after school officials received threats.
“We don’t believe anyone is in any danger, we just want to be sure that it stays that way,” Amole said.
Amole said she has received death threats personally from people angry about Curry being fired.
“It’s gotten very, very ugly out there,” she said.
Dakota Valley staff didn’t fire Curry, Amole said. She was let go by the district’s nutrition department.
“I don’t understand why people would think threatening a building full of children is ever an appropriate response,” she said.
Amole has said Curry was not fired for giving away food to a hungry child, but she said state law bars her from discussing the termination further. She said if Curry gives the district permission to discuss the termination, she would release details.
Curry has refused.
“No, I will not release my personnel files. Not because I have anything to hide, but because I feel it is a deflection from the main issue,” she wrote on Facebook last week. She reiterated that in a June 9 interview.
Curry said the main issue is making sure every student gets a complete lunch and reiterated that she was fired for giving one to a student.
“The honest truth is that I was terminated for giving away food that was not paid for, end of story,” she said, adding that she didn’t want to continue a “battle
“I am not going to engage in a battle with Cherry Creek, Cherry Creek is a wonderful school district,” she said.
Curry said people on all sides of the issue have strong feelings, and she is comfortable with whatever criticism has come her way.
“People are going to believe what they want to believe,” she said.
Her focus now, Curry said, is on lobbying local school boards and lawmakers to change the law so every student gets a complete meal — hot entree, fruit or vegetables and milk — regardless of ability to pay.
Cherry Creek’s policy now is to give students lunch the first three times they forget their money and charge their parents’ accounts. On the fourth time, the student gets either a cheese, chicken or turkey sandwich and carton of milk.
Curry said that sparse meal is her chief concern.
“That’s not lunch, that’s not even a snack,” she said.
Threats from whom and to whom? Why? Because people in this country (we have seen this with the ridiculous ‘protests’ by blacks over perceived mistreatment, ‘hands up don’t shoot’ which never happened) are lead by emotion and liberals. We DO feed hungry kids, there’s even a stipend in place for those who run out of ‘free money’ for food, a ‘ cheese sandwich and milk’, there were many day in my youth I’d have killed for a cheese sandwich and milk. This is more ‘poor little sick kids going hungry’ when this is NOT the case in our public schools. This must stop!
This Curry woman is ‘one of those’, sorry to say, but referencing her statement about ‘my personal records would distract from this matter’ is saying, ‘yes, I’m a employee that has had many problems in the past and this is just one more’ No, hoorah for her firing, a government has culled an unneeded, wasteful, law breaker, good for them.
Don’t know the facts in this situation but I would suggest taking unsupported accusations with a grain of salt. I’ve seen this type of thing play out before where people make accusations about schools or related facilities and get lots of news media attention. In the meantime, the accused (the school) cannot defend itself due to policies and privacy issues. We don’t know the facts but all the media has is the word of the accuser and the media has a habit of accepting statements without substantiation. I have observed that some people make accusations to the media (and in some instances to the police) are not very trueful. Unfortunately people are not held accountable for their statements.
Kids getting free school lunches and, in many cases free breakfasts, are in the majority in most urban districts. All the parent(s) or guardian(s) have to do is fill out an application form and self-attest as to financial need … the school district accepts the application at face value and does no followup. The only thing preventing 100% participation in the school lunch program is the personal honestly and scruples of a minority of parents. Heck, most of the kids receiving free lunches are also receiving food stamps … the parents are too lazy to prepare and pack a lunch for their kids.
I dont think they are getting death threats. I think people are just wanting to see a change in policies. I think to take a full plate of food away fro the a student and throw it in the trash is redicoulous. The policy does need to change. Who in their right mind would harm a school for gettin policy changed. i think they crying wolf because it has put a bad spolight. This situation is all over the country just read the page this isn’t just happening in Colorado it is all over. Some states have moved to all kids get lunch no matter what. The kids that are targeted are working families. The ones that do pay taxes locally and federally and the non profit gets a grant lines their pockets with the money while they demean and are cruel to children. This just isnt in this school systems it’s all over the country and it does need to be changed. I don’t care why she was fired I am tired of hearing about their stupid policies it’s time to write our senators report the non profit for investigation of misuse of funds not just in colorado but in every school that takes a plate of food and trashes it and gives a child and alternative lunch as they call it. I dont care if it’s the 30th day. It’s disgusting. policies need to change. There is a special place in hell for people who do this to kids
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[c] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then
the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then
He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you
cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him,[d] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Board-members,
I do not live in your District, in fact I am several hundred miles
away, but I was struck by the incident with your kitchen manager
and your attempt to cover it up with the “big investigation”. My
school District also does stupid things like this and ends up
paying a settlement a year later – but the problem is gone and of
course the bad decision by the supervisor and superintendent. The
superintendent settles by using payroll instead of a IRS 1099
settlement (needs board approval) to hide his dirty laundry as the
board never finds out about the settlement as the settlement is part
of total payroll. This type of management has infected our school
system and does little for your integrity. Beating up on
employees who only earn $9-10 dollars an hour just so you can
“look good” kinda sucks for your employees as well as us tax
payers.
“Numerous documented incidents resulted in the action taken
by the
Cherry Creek School District.”
Best Regards,
Chris Lodahl
P.S. Straighten out your budget — there is always going to be
kids who do not have much – but lets not starve them to death over
a lunch at school. School is there “safe place” so why make them
feel bad. A cheese sandwich is the policy – how selfish can you
people be.
What a greedy woman. If you want to be a hero.. expect to be sacrificed also. You can’t have it both ways..