Sunday, March 16, 2008

DOE's Children Last Program Continues - Stops Elementary School's Pizza Day


The micromanagement by the DOE just continues. Now those wonderful non-educators have told PS 193 in Whitestone Queens that their twenty year tradition of "Pizza Day" is a violation of the DOE regulations on what type of food can be used in the school.

The PTA has been using Pizza Day as a fund-raising tool to supplement school supplies, teacher grants, and after school activities. Pizza Day generates $200 a month to fund these activities and this money is even more important as the schools suffer from budget cuts. Pizza Day is done once a month and the children give $5.00 to participate in it. The DOE first told the school in January that Pizza Day violated the nutrition standards of the DOE, then the DOE changed that reason by claiming that it violated the Chancellor's regulations on the sale of food inside the school. However, when the New York Post reporter interviewed a DOE official. That official claimed that the PTA is not allowed to have more than two fund-raising events in a school year. What nonsense! To understand what these parents went through, just see what the Vice-President of the PTA said about the DOE.

"They (DOE) were not nice about it," Tortora said. "They were obnoxious and nasty and condescending, over a pizza party. They told us we were getting away with it for way too long. It's a joke."

Even the local politician is outraged. Here is what City Councilman Tony Avella said in helping the parents fight the pizza ban.

"It's just plain stupid," he said. "This is just one more example of the bureaucratic red tape that comes out of the DOE. It's bizarre . . . It's amazing that they're focusing on an issue like this rather than cleaning up the waste and inefficiency and making sure the kids are getting a good education."

Let's see what the DOE did to hurt the children.

First, they took away a 20-year-old fund-raising event that gave the school $200 a month for school supplies, teacher grants, and after school activities.

Second, they took away an activity that the school's students looked forward to.

Finally, they showed the students that their wants and needs are not important when it interferes with the bureaucracy of the DOE.

Is it any wonder that I call it the DOE's children last program?.


9 comments:

17 (really 15) more years said...

I would love to know the real reason the DOE banned pizza day- because I'm sure we haven't heard it yet.

Maybe if we tested the kids on the ingredients in pizza, then it would be acceptable.

thepowerguides said...

bureaucracy I love your post and I love your first commenter's comment ,

Now just think if you did not have that bureaucrat and I suspect many thousands and thousands more and must not forget their managers and their managers managers, fully employed to stamp out Pizza Day's you may have more money for those teaching in the front line and children's books and other learning materials and that would never do

And just think of the satisfaction that W????? has when they go home on how much they added to the education system.

NYC Educator said...

Unbelievable, ain't it?

I wrote about it too.

Traveling ATR said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chaz said...

Why is it unbelievable? You and other bloggers have wrote about how the non-educators have hurt the students time and again. DOE's children last continues.

NYC Educator said...

Well, maybe it's not unbelievable. But every day I see things I don't believe.

My beginning ESL students, the ones who've been here less than a month, all know and say the word, "unbelievable." I must overuse it.

Anonymous said...

They're so nasty they pick on the backbone of the outer boroughs, the middle class parents. What is the real reason? This is so insane you can't make this stuff up!!

JUSTICE not "just us" said...

hopefully these middle class parents will revolt en mass. The DOE with its bonehead policies and
dictatatorial ways has awoken a sleeping giant--the parents!

Anonymous said...

Great work.