Prosecutor to Inspect Balashov Schools After Director Dismissal

The prosecutor«s office of Balashovsky district is conducting a check on the implementation of sanitary legislation in educational organizations of the municipality. This was reported on January 21 by the regional department of the supervisory authority.

Along with prosecutors, schools in Balashovsky district will be checked by employees of the regional Rospotrebnadzor (the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) and the Ministry of Education of the region.

“The supervisory authority will check the legality of the actions of officials responsible for ensuring sanitary-epidemiological requirements, and the food supplier to educational institutions,” the message says.

Also, the prosecutor«s office will assess the regional funding standards for providing free meals to schoolchildren and the lack of their indexation since 2020. Earlier, Governor Roman Busargin reprimanded the region»s education minister over issues with unscrupulous food suppliers, and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin demanded to double the standards for school meals.

From January 1, 2026, in rural schools and cities with up to 100,000 population (except Saratov, Engels, and Balakovo), meals for all schoolchildren have become free, as well as for primary school students (grades 1–4) in all settlements of Saratov Oblast.

Last week, the director of School No. 9 in Balashov, Andrei Ryzhkov, was dismissed. The teacher, according to him, did not agree to feed children low-quality and spoiled products from a new supplier, and the school canteen staff resigned due to reduced salaries. This scandal sparked public concern in the region over free school meals, especially in Balashov.