Soda-ban rejection leaves committee in quandary

Community and committee members aren't sure what direction to take after the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees voted 3-2 May 12 against a ban on selling sodas on campuses by 2008.

Members of the Superintendent's Advisory Committee on School Nutrition packed the May 12 board meeting to ask the board to get soda off campus to help combat health problems - mainly obesity - in children.

"We were very disappointed that the superintendent didn't publicly support the policy as he stated he would in our committee meetings," said Susan Klucker, a health educator with the Gold Coast Region Nutrition Network and an advisory committee member. "We didn't expect the opposition (from the board)."

Trustee Robert Hoffman sits on the advisory committee and was irate at the board's action. In his eight years as a trustee, Hoffman can't remember the last time the board went against a superintendent's recommendation.

Trustee Daniel Cadena said he voted no because he feels a soda ban should be implemented with an educational and informational campaign aimed at students. Youth are better served when they're given information on health, exercise, obesity and caloric intake than when soda is removed altogether.

"Obesity is a problem and we need to educate students about the hazards of obesity, that, if you make this choice, this is what will happen when you make this choice," Cadena said. "Obesity is not just a school problem, it's a community-wide problem. We need to teach students how to make choices when they're not in school. It's the life-long learning that I want to emphasize."

The policy called for banning beverages other than water, milk, 100-percent fruit juice, fruit-based drinks that are composed of no less than 50 percent fruit juice and have no added sweeteners, and electrolyte replacement beverages that contain no more than 42 grams of added sweetener per 20-ounce serving.

The policy reflects California Education Code mandated in kindergarten through eighth-grade public schools, but not high schools - not yet, committee members argue.

At the board meeting, the advisory committee was directed to convene and get more student input on the ban, but some members aren't sure if they will continue serving on the committee because of what they call repeated broken promises.

"You put together a committee, you have them research the issue and put together information and they make a recommendation," Hoffman said. "The committee includes people that are the most informed and most knowledgeable - school nurses, people from the health department, people from the school's health clinic and food services."

So far, the district has tried to implement a 50/50 compromise in vending machines on campus - where half of the vending machine slots are given to water or low-sweetened juices. But the ratio of water to soda is more like 30/70, Klucker said.

The program so far has been successful, the board members agree, but also said it's hard to implement a soda ban when students are bringing soda to school from home.

Also opposing the outright ban on soda is Trustee Fred Miller. He agreed with Cadena's argument about making decisions for students and wasn't sure about how the ban would affect a contract between Pepsi and the district.

The current contract runs out in 2008. The district is guaranteed to earn at least $100,000 a year from the contract, according to Diane Bennett, the district's assistant superintendent of business services. Bennett said Pepsi officials have no problem working with the district to supply more water and less soda.

Advisory committee members have researched numbers and contend that banning soda would not affect how much money the district receives. District officials said they aren't sure about the financial impact.

Board President Dean Reece was the final vote at the meeting and voted no only because of the policy's wording. If the soda ban was only during school hours - instead of during school hours and special events - he said he would support it.

"When kids are not under our control, we shouldn't have anything to do with them, telling them what to eat and drink and what not to," he said.

More than 15 schools across the state have banned soda or changed their policies to include healthier food, including Santa Barbara High School, San Marcos High School, the Oakland Unified School District and the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In addition to offering healthier food, the board can also look at requiring physical education for four years instead of two, Cadena said.

Despite being disillusioned, Hoffman plans to stay on the advisory committee as long as he's a trustee.

"What kind of message are we sending to the kids when we tell them on the one hand that it's not good for them but we're selling it to them on campus?" Hoffman asked.

* Staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at 739-2216 or mhatfield@pulitzer.net.

May 24, 2004