YHGTBSM, Part ???

Kids balk at veggie burger, but Newton lunch lady suspended when she offers alternative

A food services manager at a Newton elementary school said she was suspended this week for feeding students other items after they refused to eat the day's veggie burgers for lunch.

Kathleen Cunningham said she was suspended for an incident that occurred May 4, when Angier Elementary School received veggie burgers instead of the grilled cheese sandwiches that were on the menu.

When about seven or eight students refused to eat the veggie burgers, she said, she let them choose other lunch items, including a bagel lunch or a breakfast lunch.

Okay, first off, yes. This person was already reprimanded for serving kids items not on the menu. More information is needed, though, before passing judgement in this case, as it seems this woman has her head on straighter than the rest of the administration. They're playing a strict "zero tolerance" game that, quite simply, does not allow for common sense.

I applaud Ms. Cunningham for being willing to stick her neck out to help the kids. Let's face it: veggie burgers are about as popular with elementary school kids as brussel sprouts, lima beans, or liver and onions. She saw a slew of kids turn down the lunch - which was delivered by mistake, remember - and offered them a healthy alternative that they wanted to eat.

And for this, she is punished. What she should have done according to the school rules - sit passively by while kids went hungry over a delivery error - would have been the "safer" option for her. Those kids - and their parents - should be thankful there are still people like Ms. Cunningham willing to stand up and say, this rule is wrong, I'm going to do what's right.

Kathleen Cunningham is hereby awarded the first official MArooned "Attaboy". Something tells me she's not the type to be offended by the gender-implications of the award...

That is all.