and it isn't even 'everybody wants to be a school committee member' season

 Some of us have often referred to Worcester's election year as "everybody wants to be a school committee member" season, as very frequently in past years, city councilors show a sudden interest in creating policy1 for the Worcester Public Schools in a fashion that is WAY out of their purview.

They seem to have been late with their rounds this year, as observed by Mike Benedetti in his write up of tonight's City Council meeting:

Schools: There are a few items, both from the Public Works Committee and Councilor Ojeda, having to do with school cafeterias, food waste, and students providing meals to poll workers, possibly all of which are outside the purview of the City Council. I note these here because a few years back the Council frequently had items on the agenda that only the School Committee had authority over, but it’s been awhile since that’s happened.

If you check the agenda², these items include: 

FROM THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS - Request

City Manager request Chief Sustainability Officer work with

the School Department to facilitate a food waste study in the

schools cafeterias. Said study should quantify the

percentage of food waste created compared to the amount

of food distributed from the cafeterias.

14b. Request City Manager provide City Council with an outline

of a two (2) year plan to appropriate funding to work with

the Worcester Public Schools (WPS), supermarkets, and

local organizations to utilize food waste to help combat food

insecurity. (Ojeda)

14c. Request City Clerk work with the Superintendent of Public

Schools to determine the feasibility of Worcester Public

Schools students providing poll workers with meals during

each Election Day. (Ojeda)

While the inquiry--and let's be clear that it is no more than that--of the last item is under Council purview, as elections are (to a certain extent), now that the schools are closed for students on election days in Worcester, this seems a rather expensive (to put it mildly) undertaking. As most polling places are not in schools, I don't know why this would be the schools' problem to solve. 

But food waste studies of the Worcester Public Schools cafeterias and a two year plan on food waste in school cafeterias? Those are both totally not under the Council purview (nor on their committee on Public Works).

Further, the school nutrition program of the Worcester Public Schools is entirely funded through federal USDA funding. There isn't even any budgetary interest possible here. 

I'd suggest the City Council interest itself in things that are actually under its purview, and leave the oversight of the public schools' nutrition programs to the district. 

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¹Somehow this never seems to extend to the very much under their purview matter of funding the schools below the legal requirement. That would require their requiring something of their actual employee, the city manager, as opposed to making speeches about children on matters over which they have no control. Yet here we are.

²And cheers to whomever started posting it as a PDF that actually just OPENS on the city site, so we don't have to DOWNLOAD it to open it!