The food service subcontractor says it has a policy to 'sample before serving' food and drinks, but that wasn't followed on Tuesday.
JUNEAU, Alaska - The Juneau School District Board of Education held a special meeting on Friday afternoon to learn more about an incident that occurred on Tuesday with 12 children and two adults ingesting floor sealant at a summer child care program, thinking it was milk.
It was repeatedly stated that there are ongoing investigations taking place, meaning that the whole picture of what happened is not yet known. But Billingsley detailed a series of errors that could have contributed to it. The food service subcontractor has a policy to “sample before serving” any food or drinks before they are given to students, but that wasn’t followed on Tuesday, Billingsley said. He explained corrective actions are being implemented by the contractor, including a weekly accountability meeting with employees.
The floor sealant is considered to be a “low-ingestion hazard,” which is typical for chemicals used in schools. Parents of kids who ingested the sealant have reported them feeling symptoms like nausea and headaches. “The district is examining emergency communication protocols for quicker parent notification. Similar protocols for emergency communications that are used during the school year will be implemented for summer programs,” Bartlett said.