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Hmong PTA urges district to replace community liaison after retirement
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Summary
Hmong PTA leaders told the board the district must fill and sustain a Hmong community liaison position after the incumbent’s retirement, citing two decades of work building trust and helping families navigate schools.
At the Eau Claire Area School Board public forum, Hmong PTA leaders asked the district to replace its Hmong community liaison and to ensure the role remains permanent and supported.
Lamy Yang, identified herself as president of the Hmong PTA, told the board the liaison position of more than 20 years has functioned “as a bridge between the district and the Hmong families.” She said the liaison’s work went beyond translation to include advocacy, helping parents understand expectations, connecting families to school and community resources, and supporting students’ academic and emotional needs. Yang told the board: “Without her, many families will be lost in a system they struggle to navigate.”
Yuwa Vang, speaking afterward for the Hmong PTA, said she had seven children in the district and credited the liaison — named in remarks as Bleea Schwann — with intervening to connect her family to resources and supports that helped her older children graduate. “If Liz didn’t reach out to me… I don’t think my 3 kids would have graduated,” Vang said, urging the district to hire “another advocate so that parents like us that speak perfect English don’t get lost in the system also.”
Yang and Vang asked the board to prioritize recruiting a qualified Hmong individual to fill the role and to make the position a permanent, supported part of the district’s staffing so the community-level trust and access it provides do not disappear.
The comments came during the public-comment section; board members did not take immediate action on the request during the meeting. The speakers asked the board to consider the request in future staffing and budget planning.
