Milford board declines empty‑chair memorial at graduation, offers alternatives and draws community response

Two community speakers asked the Milford Exempted Village School District Board of Education on April 17 to authorize a visible memorial for a student who died by suicide and to adopt a written policy to allow similar memorials in the future. The board responded that it will not place an empty chair at graduation; instead it described a series of alternative, district‑wide steps to honor students who died while enrolled.

Julie Mastin, who identified herself as the mother of Kaylee Mastin, who died by suicide in 2023, asked the board to “create a policy that allows any student to be publicly remembered at graduation if their classmates and families want that.” She said a petition supporting a memorial had gathered more than 6,800 signatures and told the board the district’s current practice of removing flowers and posters leaves students feeling erased.

Luisa McQueen, a Milford resident, told the board the request was “about dignity” and urged the board to act. "Everybody deserves dignity," she said.

The board president read a prepared statement on the record saying the district had consulted the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement, reviewed peer‑reviewed research and heard from mental‑health professionals. The statement said evidence shows some public memorials at events such as graduations may unintentionally increase suicide contagion risk among vulnerable young people. For safety reasons, the board said it will not place empty chairs for any student and that it will not make decisions that differ based on cause of death.

The board listed the measures it will take to recognize students who die while enrolled: reading the student’s name aloud with the other graduates at commencement; printing the name in the graduation program; providing the family a diploma privately; including a remembrance supplement in the yearbook; and offering in‑school supports and events for grieving students. The statement said the district’s mental‑health coordinator and high‑school leaders had met with seniors to provide a space to talk and that community partners had been involved in support activities.

Board members emphasized they had sought advice from mental‑health professionals and national guidance and said their decision reflected concern for the overall well‑being of all students. The board also invited continued dialogue with families and community members.

The exchange drew strong emotions from speakers in the audience and two public commenters; the board’s public statement and the petition were entered into the meeting record.