Battle over Breakfast at LA Schools

Teachers don't want to deal with it, but parents, food workers support it

A majority of L.A. Unified School Board members said they will vote to continue a classroom breakfast program that feeds nearly 200,000 children but was in danger of being axed after sharp criticism by the teachers union.

The program's fate was thrown into question last week when L.A. Supt. John Deasy said he would eliminate it without explicit board direction to retain it. He said United Teachers Los Angeles had complained that serving breakfast in the classroom, rather than before school in the cafeteria, took up too much instructional time and created messes.

News of board support for the program came as another district union, Service Employees International Union Local 99, planned to rally at Hooper Avenue Elementary in South Los Angeles on Tuesday morning to save the classroom breakfasts. Union spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said more than 900 school cafeteria workers would lose their jobs if the classroom breakfast program was shelved.