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Tuesday evening families received a notice from Washoe County School District school stating that twelve schools had reportedly found glass in students’ tater tots, with one injury reported.

The email sent to families is as follows:

Good afternoon, Washoe County School District Families—

This is an important message from the district for Tuesday, November 25.

Today, a lunch item available at our elementary schools – frozen and reheated tater tots—was found to contain small glass-like objects. One student reported a minor cut to their finger, and no other injuries have been reported. 

Upon receiving these reports, the district initiated an investigation, and out of an abundance of caution, WCSD Nutrition Services directed all schools to immediately remove all tater tots. WCSD also notified the national distributor and its vendor who provided this frozen food to our district. 

Staff members at twelve elementary schools reported these objects in the tater tots today, and we have no current knowledge that any other schools were affected. 

Those 12 schools are:

Esther Bennett

Rita Cannan

Roger Corbett

Desert Heights

Florence Drake

Nancy Gomes

Dorothy Lemelson

Bernice Mathews

Virginia Palmer

Silver Lake

Stead

Kate Smith

The safety of our students is our highest priority, and the investigations into these incidents will continue. If you have additional information, please contact Nutrition Services at  nutritionservices@washoeschools.net or call (775) 353-5930.

Thank you.

We will update with new information as it becomes available.

This is a developing story.

Kelsey is a fourth-generation Nevadan, investigative journalist and college professor working in the Sierras. She is an advocate of high desert agriculture, rescue dogs, and analog education.