California’s schools are worried because the state approved a rule requiring fast-food chains to pay its employees a minimum salary of $20 per hour, making public schools in the state compete with major cafeterias.
The lowest-paid position in public education, food workers in schools, is not covered by the statute.
California provides free lunches to kids, and the state’s Department of Education reported that demand is likely to rise by up to 70 million meals this year compared to 2018.
The current law has made the already difficult task of finding staff for school food services much more difficult.
“They are all very worried about it,” stated Carrie Bogdanovich, president of the California School Nutrition Association. The majority said they expect it to be more difficult and harder to hire employees.”
