Diedrich Lashes Out At Those Eligible for Free/Reduced Lunch

It came from left of even left field...which is often the case with Caren Diedrich.
The place:  The August 22nd Finance Committee meeting.
The agenda topic: A report on the Food Service Program budget for 2011-12.

It started with a simple question (to Renee Slotten-Beauchamp, Food Service Administrator), "27%?  Is that the percentage of kids eligible for free and reduced meals?  Slotten-Beauchamp confirmed the number.
...and then Caren Diedrich let 'er rip.
An uncomfortable silence settled in.  Several audience members shifted in their seats hoping to avoid becoming collateral damage of a bolt from the heavens.
What she uncorked in about 20 seconds:

•  “How can a society have 27 percent of their population needing free and reduced lunch?” 
• “Parents, where are you? You are supposed to take care of your children..."
• "27 percent – we can’t keep this up, as a school district or as a society...” 
• “I just won’t accept [this] anymore...”
•  “I’m sorry... you go along for awhile, but 27 percent? – not in Sun Prairie!!”

           ----- School Board member Caren Diedrich

Finance Committee chair Jim McCourt even tried to rein Diedrich in by noting that the number of students on free and reduced lunch is reflected in the city’s unemployment rate.  Diedrich wouldn't have it.  She merely pressed on with her outburst.

 Caren... WAKE THE #@% UP!!!!!!! 
We were offended by your remarks, and likely so is the vast majority of this community.  People...you SHOULD be offended!  Ms. Diedrich said everything but the words, "Those People".  How DARE she question where the parents are when she knows NOTHING of their individual situations?  Diedrich's comments strongly suggest that any kid who is eligible for  free/reduced school meals has unfit parents that are too lazy or uncaring to provide for their children.

Caren....Do you not read the papers?  Watch TV?  Do you not listen to fellow board members?  These are unprecedented times.  Unemployment numbers are sky high; wages and benefits have been cut, and home foreclosures continue to rise.  Is it the parents' fault that they lost a job and cannot find another?  Certainly there may be some individual cases where the parents need a swift kick in the heiny.  MOST of these parents are struggling to survive, and putting what food they can on the table.

Diedrich frequently advocates for a good education...so how come she doesn't understand that a hungry child is not equipped to learn?  To further complicate matters, later in the meeting Diedrich staunchly supported the concept of teachers providing [Ho-Hos, Twinkies, candy, etc.] as rewards to motivate kids.  So, Ms. Diedrich...using junk food paid for with our tax dollars to motivate kids is OK, but a free/reduced lunch/breakfast program to provide a nutritionally balanced meal paid (largely) for by the Federal government is not???

Labeling people and making social judgments is NOT YOUR JOB!  Your job is to ensure a good quality education for ALL kids (remember?).  Your little tirade just moved at least one form of bigotry into the front seat.  And let's not forget the school district vision statement:

Our Vision
All students, families, school employees, and community members unified by mutual respect and the shared purpose of seeking successful learning for every student.

The National School Lunch Program
 The School Lunch Act of 1946 represents the first government-funded program to address the poor diets of school children. For 27% of the kids in the Sun Prairie school district, the school lunch program means that children receive one low- (or no-) cost meal that includes foods from the entire food pyramid...or whatever damn shape they're using this month. 

 What's Diedrich's Beef When It Doesn't Cost the District Anything?
Ostensibly, one would reason that Ms. Diedrich's frustration was directed at the cost to the school district--since that's really the limit of her "authority" as a school board member, right?  But...but...didn't she know...or read the Situation Report indicating that for the most most recent DPI report (2009-10 school year) the average cost per lunch served by the district was $2.30 and the Federal government pays the district $2.39 per lunch served!  So we're making a profit from lunch for gosh sakes!  For breakfast, there is a net "loss" of $0.22 per breakfast served, a deficit which is made recouped through a la carte sales.

So...basically...the lunch and breakfast programs are run out of a fund which is completely distinct from the General Fund.  It does not affect property taxes.  So...was Diedrich's beef an insight into her politics?  Was she just steaming about her federal taxes, which subsidize the National School Lunch Program (NSLP)?

What's Next for Diedrich?   Waging War on Welfare?  
Dissing The Disabled Receiving Social Security Benefits?
Harassing the Homeless?
What exactly did Diedrich mean by "not in Sun Prairie?"  What?  Is her plan to ship all these impoverished families out of town?  Create a poverty-free zone here in Sun Prairie?  Certainly she has to understand that poverty isn't something that can be cured with a pill or a swift kick to the behind...doesn't she?  Or is she operating in the absence of a clue?

Can't you just hear Jeff Probst's voice echoing, "Caren...It's time for you to go".