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Parent urges Parkway board to deliver action plan after student suicide and ongoing bullying
Summary
At the May 14 Parkway School District board meeting a parent described ongoing bullying affecting her family after a recent student suicide and asked the district for a written action plan and other supports; a family member pressed the board to ‘save Skyler.’
Jessica Bogan, a Parkway parent, told the Board of Education on May 14 that her family has faced repeated bullying and that the district’s responses so far have not stopped further harm. “I did lose one of my children to suicide because of the bullying,” Bogan said during public comment, and she described a second child who has since been assaulted and is too afraid to attend school.
Bogan’s sister, Dr. Robin Drake, spoke after her and implored district leaders to provide immediate help and a concrete plan. “You all have to help us. This is tragic,” Drake said. She asked the board and staff to send “an action plan” to the family and said the family wants change within the district rather than moving the child to another district.
The public-comment rules read aloud before speakers reminded participants that the forum is not an appropriate place to discuss individually identifiable student or personnel matters and said the board will not respond during the meeting but will reply in writing. Drake told the board she had received several phone calls from staff the previous day and said those calls felt like “a tactic that may have been bullying.”
Board procedures require responses in writing and the board’s public-comment announcement said staff will use established policies and procedures for addressing complaints and concerns; speakers are encouraged to submit written comments as well. Bogan said she had followed the school’s processes but still wanted clarity about what additional options exist to protect her child.
The remarks came during the scheduled public-comment portion of the meeting. No formal board action was taken during the meeting to change discipline or transfer policies, and the board’s meeting notice reiterated that it cannot discuss identifiable student or personnel issues on the public record. Members of the public who wish to pursue the matter were directed to use the district’s established complaint channels and to expect a written response.
The exchange left the board with a clear request for follow-up: a family asked for a written action plan and additional support to prevent further harm. The district’s public-comment script and the board’s policy promise a written reply; the transcript shows the request was made but does not record a written plan being delivered during the meeting.
