District in lunch-toss flap pulls back on PR hire

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah school district criticized for taking away $2 school lunches from students whose accounts were overdue has pulled back on a plan to hire a public relations firm.

The Salt Lake Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1o6sPE0) that Salt Lake City School District Board President Kristi Swett emailed fellow board members Thursday to say no money had been spent on a firm, and moving forward with a firm was not recommended.

The newspaper reported last week that the board sought proposals of up to $49,999 from seven PR firms.

District spokesman Jason Olsen says part of the firm's job would be analyzing what went wrong in the district's handling of the incident at Uintah Elementary School, which drew national outrage.

Some parents criticized the quest for a PR firm as wasteful.

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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com