Journalists scrambled to get a shot of State Superintendent of Education Jack O’Connell loading his tray full of cafeteria food at Mission Bay High School following a press conference he held on Wednesday, Feb. 11. O’Connell appeared at the high school to discuss his plan to push for more money to meet the statewide 12 percent spike in demand for reduced-price or free school lunches in the ’07-’08 school year. Historically, demand for subsidized school lunches increases by 1 percent each year. O’Connell said he chose Mission Bay High School because of the priority the school places on nutritious meals, and the high percentage of students who are eligible for subsidized lunches. Approximately 72 percent of the 1,700 students at the high school qualify for the subsidized lunches. The superintendent is pushing for the state assembly to pass emergency legislation AB 95, authored by Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch), to provide an additional $19.5 million for the Food Services Department of California. “It is my hope that the legislation gets passed in the next 60 days,” O’Connell said. “Some resistance will be met, but I am going to pitch this argument on the grounds that it is basic, fundamental and essential.” San Diego Unified School District may run out of state funding for food services as soon as March, according to Gene Robinson, assistant director of food services. “We anticipate money running out that soon due to the increased amount of participation of students – most likely from the economic downturn being experienced right now,” Robinson said. If AB 95 doesn’t pass, Robinson expects Food Services will have to pull money from other reserves. “In the situation that it doesn’t pass right away, we will continue to feed the kids and provide those meals,” Robinson said. “We’ll just have to do it with funds coming out of reserves or allocated from other cuts.” Mission Bay High School Principal Cheryl Seelos said the increased funding would only maintain the status quo. If the legislation doesn’t pass, the quality of food will suffer. “We have a brand new salad bar which the kids love,” Seelos said. “There’s a wide selection of fresh fruit and really good-quality food. If the new funding is not received, the compromise will come in a lack of quality, a lot of canned food and lower-quality meat.” A handful of students joined O’Connell for lunch in the cafeteria after the press conference. They exchanged light conversation with the superintendent amid the commotion of surrounding media coverage. When asked about his thoughts on the food, O’Connell replied “It is pretty good!”