Ban on sodas up for vote. The Miami-Dade School Board will consider a ban of soda sales on campus as well as changes to the school calendar and the job of inspector general.

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BY MATTHEW I. PINZURmpinzur@herald.com
Soda sales could be banned in Miami-Dade County public schools next year if the School Board approves a new nutrition policy, one of a trio of high-profile issues the board is scheduled to decide today.
The board is also expected to change the way the district's inspector general operates, as well as deciding how to make up classroom time after the nearly two-week break forced by Hurricane Wilma.
Superintendent Rudy Crew wants to cancel three teacher planning days, extend the school year by two days and hold class on the Presidents Day holiday.
The soda ban, which failed in February, is now part of a more comprehensive health package that would expand physical education, reevaluate health classes and limit portions on sweets and snacks sold at school.
If approved, the policy would allow only water, unsweetened fruit juice, milk and ''electrolyte-replacement'' drinks like Gatorade to be sold in cafeterias and vending machines.
The portion rules would essentially ban king-size bags of chips, oversized cookies and other jumbo snacks.
''Portions count,'' said food and nutrition director Penny Parham. ``The portion size of what you eat is a very important part of having a healthy diet.''
Middle-school physical education classes normally have 60 to 70 students, and Crew proposed spending around $3.4 million by 2008 to hire enough teachers to drastically reduce those numbers. At least $3 million has already been earmarked in the 2006-07 budget, and district spokesman Joseph Garcia said the rest would be squeezed from other areas.
''That would really have a profound impact on childhood obesity because we'd finally get these kids physically active,'' said Jayne Greenberg, director for life skills and special projects.
One concern that derailed the soda ban in February was the money collected by teams and clubs under lucrative soda-machine contracts. Crew's proposal promises to reimburse those groups for the estimated $3 million loss, possibly by negotiating new exclusivity contracts. The Los Angeles district recently signed a $26 million contract with Pepsi to stock Gatorade, juice and water.
OTHER CONCERNS
Still, some of the ban's opponents had philosophical concerns not addressed in the new plan. Healthier beverages are often more expensive than soda, and board member Agustín Barrera argued in February that eliminating soda would punish students without addressing the deeper eating habits that children learn at home.
The calendar change would add six school days to the 2005-06 calendar but leave both winter and spring vacations intact.
Miami-Dade schools lost eight days to Wilma, plus four more to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but state education officials agreed to waive some of the lost time.
Members of the United Teachers of Dade union -- which has some control over the calendar through its labor contract -- urged Crew to reconsider his original plan to hold class on the first few days of winter break.
''We said that would not create good will at all,'' said UTD President Karen Aronowitz.
She said many parents had already planned travel for winter break, which begins Dec. 19. If classes were held that day, she said, attendance would likely be low.
If the board approves the proposed changes, the last day of school would be Friday, May 26, instead of May 24. At the 39 campuses in the School Improvement Zone, classes end on May 31.
Board members have debated the inspector general issue for months following the rocky dismissal of Herbert Cousins, the first person in the job. Much of the contention has surrounded his replacement's chain of command: The School Board funds the office, but Cousins reported to the Florida Department of Education's inspector general in Tallahassee.
VITAL TO INDEPENDENCE
Cousins said that arrangement was vital to protect the office's independence, but board members said they were left with too little oversight.
Under the proposed change, Cousins' replacement would report to the district's Audit Committee, which is comprised almost entirely of lawyers and certified public accountants who do not work for the district but are appointed by School Board members.
The inspector -- responsible for uncovering and preventing waste, fraud and mismanagement -- would be hired by the board from finalists compiled by an independent selection committee and could be fired by the board for failure to perform.