Dear Editor,
Mississippi has the country’s highest rate of food insecurity, with one-in-three children (24.4-percent) going to bed hungry most every night. Stomachs are growling all over the state.
Coahoma County’s school board, on a four-to-one vote, approved Ilean Richards, Interim Superintendent’s, summer feeding program.
And it is obvious all children in Coahoma County School District are not treated equal.
Parents, if your child lives in Bobo, Davenport, Farrell, Sherard, Rena Lara and Roundaway, they won’t get a box of milk, juice, fruit, or peanut butter sandwich. These children have one thing in common, they all attend Sherard Elementary and they live in District 5.
Poverty and hunger are clearly intertwined.
However, and disturbing, Ilean Richards, Interim Superintendent, requested a $123,600 dollars for a 120 day YEP (Year End Pay). That’s $120,000 for 120-days of work, and unbelievably it was approved.
Coahoma County School District, in over a year, has had approximately 40 certified employees quit and approximately 37 classified employees quit. Some of them have shared disturbing audio.
When we lose these young people, we lose tax dollars, homebuyers, students and population.
Thank you,
Johnnie Moore
Coahoma Co. School District 5 Trustee,
Coahoma Co., Miss.
