Editor, Ceres Courier,

I respectfully disagree with your stance on feeding our elected officials with taxpayer dollars. When a leadership meeting coincides with a meal time-of-day, it only makes sense to feed the participants. It's difficult to learn and make decisions when you're hungry. That's why we feed our students. I hardly think pizza is extravagant in the case of the Ceres City Council (not very healthy, however). As far as the school board, when they need a meal, it is often prepared by district nutrition staff, a minimal cost.

Breaking bread together is a basic human event and necessary to maintain health. If the dinner meeting you observed at City Hall was not in closed session, you were entitled to join the group in accordance with the Brown Act. In my opinion, you should have been offered some pizza too. I myself get cranky when I'm hungry (just ask my husband, he'll tell you). So, let's all stay fed to stabilize our moods, enhance productivity, and optimize our interactions with each other.

Eileen Wyatt Stokman,
Ceres