Por the parents of Bordeaux pupils, the galleys accumulate according to the cases of Covid. This Monday, January 17, the City of Bordeaux announced to families the suspension of meals in the canteen two days a week, Mondays and Thursdays in kindergarten and Tuesdays and Fridays in elementary school. On these days parents will need to provide a picnic. A decision that concerns the period from January 24…
Por the parents of Bordeaux pupils, the galleys accumulate according to the cases of Covid. This Monday, January 17, the City of Bordeaux announced to families the suspension of meals in the canteen two days a week, Mondays and Thursdays in kindergarten and Tuesdays and Fridays in elementary school. On these days parents will need to provide a picnic. A decision which concerns the period from January 24 to the February holidays.
The rumor had started to spread between the parents of students from the middle of the afternoon. From 6 p.m., the text messages sent in dribs and drabs confirm the parents’ concern: “A reception without catering service will be set up. “In the middle of the evening, it is an email, more substantial, which specifies that the measure is motivated by the “significant number of absences among the municipal staff”.
190 of the 900 Bordeaux agents are currently infected with Covid or contact cases
Contacted, Sylvie Schmitt, deputy mayor in charge of education, childhood and youth, indicates that 190 of the 900 Bordeaux agents are currently infected with Covid or contact cases. A rate of absenteeism which prevents the services of the City from ensuring the daily preparation of some 15,500 meals while welcoming the students in complete safety.
“We have come to the end of the solutions, specifies the elected official. The heavy health protocol requires a strong presence of agents that we no longer have. We’ve tried alternatives, like paper plates, which reduce the need for dishwashing attendants, but it wasn’t enough. We have therefore taken the drastic decision to continue to welcome students by suspending the distribution of meals two days a week. Meals that will not be charged. »
What picnic?
For Maude, mother of a girl educated in the small section, it is resignation. “Lately, we’ve been adapting a bit from day to day, between contact cases, strikes… There, we’ll have to decide between the balanced salad, which my little one will eat half, or the ham-packet of crisps that she will devour”, smiles the mother.
The concerns of this parent student delegate in the priority education network (Rep) also concern the less fortunate families. The lowest price for a meal in the canteen is 0.45 euro. A balanced lunch at a lower cost that some children will not be able to find in discount picnics. “One of the arguments for reopening the schools was precisely that the children ate badly at home”, laughs Pauline (1), kindergarten teacher Rep.
She also recalls that during school outings, it is common for a student to show up without a snack. “In this case, we go to the bakery, just to help out, she points out. But we’re not going to ask the manager to go buy 15 sandwiches twice a week! »
Recruitment difficulties
The situation is unlikely to change between now and the February holidays. According to the education assistant of the town hall of Bordeaux, only the recruitment of new agents can, in the long term, make it possible to compensate for the numerous absences linked to Covid. “But like the animation sector, we are unable to recruit, regrets the elected official. We opened 35 positions but only 15 were filled. »
(1) The first name has been changed at his request