Calexico High school moves forward on new lunch policy
CALEXICO — A final decision from the school board on June 20 settled the debate of having an open or closed campus during lunch at Calexico High School, and parents, students and staff are now moving forward on how to best implement the new policy during the 2019-20 school year.
An informational meeting was held Thursday inside the CHS cafeteria, where Principal Gabrielle Williams and her team received suggestions and ideas from parents and students, as well as answered questions about the new policy.
However, as the school has had open campus since before the 1980s, it will take some getting used to, Williams acknowledged.
During the meeting, in response to questions how the policy will affect wait times, she asked students in the room how long it currently takes to receive lunch. The reply was a succession of shrugged shoulders.
“So nobody eats here?” she asked.
School administration projected that, on average, about 1,000 of its current student base of around 2,200 leaves campus during lunch.
“It feels like a campus of about 1,000 during lunchtime,” Williams said.
The school’s new two-group lunch will consist of approximately 1,100 students each.
The first lunch period, Lunch 4B, will take place from 11:23 a.m. to 12:08 p.m., and the second period, Lunch 4A, will take place from 12:23 p.m. to 1:08 p.m.
The fourth period for students who have Lunch 4A will take place before, from 11:23 a.m. to 12:18 p.m., while the fourth period for students who have Lunch 4B will take place after, between 12:13 p.m. and 1:08 p.m.
A five-minute passing period will take place in between lunch and each fourth period.
Whether the school has sufficient resources, such as seating area, security and number of lunches, was a concern among parents in attendance.
Williams confirmed the current kitchen staff is capable of making more than 2,000 lunches per day.
The campus currently has enough seating space to seat more than 1,000 in chairs, in addition to benches, halls and shaded areas, she said.
Additionally, the school recently purchased 35 picnic tables with umbrellas and will possibly purchase more if funds allow for it.
A significant brawl that took place off campus on May 20 and was shared widely on social media almost certainly played a role in the district reassessing the policy.
During the June 20 meeting, when Calexico Unified School District Board voted 3-2 to close the campus during lunchtime, community members voiced their concerns.
One student, an incoming CHS sophomore, at the June 20 meeting took to the podium and pointed out that even at the CHS ninth grade campus, there are still fights.
“That doesn’t mean we’re all going to be safe as soon as we close campus,’ the student said.
Another student said she felt “closed campus shouldn’t be something that should be enforced after one event” and that the number of students to adults on the campus during lunch would not be an ideal ratio.
“We had an incident, and just because we had an incident, it shouldn’t mean that we’re going to change the world,” CUSD Board Member Lorenzo Calderon said, “I think we should educate on what’re trying to do.”
Ultimately the board decided in favor of the rule change.
“This is not a consequence for anyone or for all students because of one incident,” Williams said to the students at the board meeting.
During Thursday’s meeting, Williams said security on campus will be ramped up during next year during lunch.
Last year, the school had four security guards assigned to the inside of the campus, one assigned to the front of the school and two assigned to the library and food cart area.
Next school year, there will be five security guards during first lunch — two who will come in during the last 15 minutes of lunch — and seven during second lunch.
“It really isn’t going to look much different than what we see right now,” Williams said. “1,100 students, that’s what we currently manage. I really don’t anticipate much difference to what we see right now.”
She said an additional factor in the new policy was a decision made by Calexico Police Department this year.
Williams explained that the department decided it would shut down the food carts parked outside the campus that serve students during lunchtime, leaving students with fewer lunch options nearby.