Cherry Creek School District: 'There Are No Hungry Kids'
DENVER (CBS4) - A story first reported on CBS4 is now grabbing headlines all over the world. On Monday CBS4's Tom Mustin talked to a kitchen manager for the Cherry Creek School District who says she lost her job for feeding students who couldn't pay for lunch.
Mustin's story has now unleashed a torrent of criticism against the school district.
Della Curry is the kitchen manager who was fired, and now her life has changed after she told her story on CBS4.
"I have done nothing but interviews. It's been insane," Curry told Mustin on Wednesday.
Monday night Curry talked to CBS4 after losing her job as the kitchen manager at Dakota Valley Elementary School, allegedly for feeding hot meals to hungry students who hadn't qualified for the free or reduced lunch program. Under district rules, such students are provided with a slice of processed cheese inside a hamburger bun.
Since then her story has gone international.
"I thought we would get some local interest and make some changes in the Denver metro area -- that's what I was hoping for -- but your (Mustin's) piece, it just blew up," Curry said.
Mustin also spoke for the first time on camera with the Cherry Creek School District.
"It is so unfortunate that she is able to provide inaccurate information that I can't address because of state privacy issues," school district spokesperson Tustin Amole said.
Amole said Curry's firing had nothing to do with giving away food.
"There are a number of documented issues that would have led to the action that we took," she said.
"It has nothing to do with her giving free food to hungry kids?" Mustin asked Amole.
"There are no hungry kids. We feed every child," Amole responded.
Amole said she can't go into specifics without permission from Curry to release her personnel file -- something Curry has no intention of doing.
"I think they're trying to protect themselves, which is fine. But all I can tell you is the truth," Curry said.
Curry is now traveling to New York City to do more interviews, and she hopes they will make a difference.
"We can make a real change now. This is not some local thing. We can do it on a national level," she said.
