District Letter Outlines Bloody Bagels Incident, Response

Madison Schools Superintendent Dr. Michael Rossi said in a letter to Central Avenue School parents posted on the district website that officials are working to ensure there is "never a similar occurrence" after an incident this month in which two Central Avenue School student purchased bagels from the school cafeteria and noticed what turned out to be a cafeteria employee's blood on their bagels.

A parent-teacher organization co-president, Jennifer Groller, had asked at the most recent Board of Education meeting for the incident to be addressed by officials in writing to prevent inaccurate information from spreading. Parents were finding out about what happened at different times, emailing her about their concerns in waves, and some were boycotting the cafeteria, she said.

Rossi's letter gives an account of what happened—a cafeteria employee cut their finger and did not notify a supervisor—and says the school board has taken steps to ensure there are no health concerns resulting from the incident.

Mark Vidovich, president of Pomptonian Food Service, the district's food service provider, has said the 14-year employee was fired after the incident. The employee had a complete lapse in judgment and feels awful about what happened, he said. The employee agreed to have a blood test and Vidovich said there was not anything in the test results that would lead Pomptonian to advise the district to take any action based on the results, and that the company planned to provide the district with the results once necessary forms were in place.

Dear Parents,

I am writing to provide you with information relating to an incident that occurred last week at Central Avenue School (CAS) during lunch.

Two CAS students purchased a bagel meal from the cafeteria staff and noticed something on the bagel which was later determined to be blood.

The CAS staff immediately pulled the product and alerted our food services manager about the incident. Upon investigation, it was determined that a cafeteria staff member had cut his/her finger and had not notified a supervisor of same.

Please be assured that the Board is handling the matter pursuant to its policies, practices and procedures as it relates to compliance with food safety protocols. Additionally, the Board has taken steps to ensure that there are no medical or health concerns resulting from the incident.

There is nothing more important than protecting the safety of the children we serve. We truly regret this unfortunate circumstance and are working with the PTO and Pomptonian Food Services to ensure that there is never a similar occurrence.

Please feel free to contact me with any specific concerns or questions.

Sincerely,
Michael Rossi, Jr.
Superintendent of Schools