Public speakers praise Appleton East band’s national honor and urge stepped‑up school safety training

At its regular meeting the Appleton Area School District board heard two public‑input speakers: Julie Brown, a district band teacher and parent, praised Appleton East’s band for a national performance invitation, and Rosh Banjack, a parent and veteran, urged additional school safety training and offered veteran volunteers to help.

Julie Brown identified herself as a band teacher in the district and as a parent of an Appleton East band student. She said the Appleton East Band was chosen to perform at a national commemoration marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War and described the invitation as “a huge deal and honor for the East Band students and Mrs. LaFleur, for the Appleton Area School District and for our whole community.” Brown said the students will perform with only “a handful of other high school bands from across the country” and thanked teacher Margaret LaFleur and the students for giving up spring break to represent the district.

Rosh Banjack, a parent and veteran, told the board he was concerned about recent national incidents of school violence and urged the district to make sure “every school in this district…have the proper training and know how to protect our children.” Banjack said he has been in contact with Horizon Elementary’s principal and offered that he and other veterans are “more than willing…to give up any time from our day to help…educate the educators on how to successfully deescalate a situation.”

Superintendent Mr. Hartjes and staff responded that the district takes safety seriously, works closely with local police and a district safety work group led by Mr. Scurrett, and is open to additional input. Mr. Hartjes said the district “will connect with principal Olsen and see if he thinks there's anything further we can do at Horizon or any of our other schools.”

Context: Brown noted the band’s other recent achievements — state qualifiers, solos advancing to all‑state or state competitions, and local fundraising and volunteer work — and said she will chaperone the Hawaii trip. Banjack’s remarks were framed as public comment; the board and administration provided a high‑level summary of existing safety practices and said staff would follow up with principals and the district safety team.

No formal board action followed public comment; administration asked to be contacted for more specific follow‑up on training or volunteer coordination.