District under fire for volunteer-run lunch program

Dec. 10—The Kentfield (Calif.) School District, under fire from state education officials, is defending the legality of its volunteer-run school lunch program against claims it violates California law.

Prompted by an anonymous complaint, the state Department of Education sent a letter to Kentfield Schools Superintendent Mary Jo Pettigrew last month ordering the district to take over the lunch program from the Parent Teacher Association. The letter said the program, which has been run by the PTA for years at Bacich Elementary School and Kent Middle School, violates numerous sections of state education code.