Parents, students press Greece Central board on violence, locked bathrooms at Arcadia High

Bridget Miceli, a parent of two Greece Central students, told the Board of Education that her daughter was repeatedly targeted at Arcadia schools and that bathroom access has been restricted even for students with medical notes.

“Each student and teacher should be able to come to the school to feel safe,” Miceli said during the public comment portion of the meeting, saying staff had told her daughter the incidents were “just normal middle school boy behavior.”

The nut graf: Several Arcadia families and a student told the board during resident forum that classroom disruptions, physical assaults and repeated “hold in place” incidents are hurting students’ ability to learn and their mental health. Speakers asked the board and administration for immediate safety measures including more security, better bathroom monitoring, and clearer enforcement of consequences.

Student speaker Milana Miceli identified herself as a ninth grader at Arcadia High School and said she was assaulted as an eighth grader after returning to school from surgery. “I came back to school and was physically assaulted and got kicked out from under my crutches repeatedly,” she said. She urged board members to shadow a school day and see conditions for themselves.

Other residents described multiple recent incidents: Tiffany Kilberry, a Greece resident and local business owner, listed a series of recent holds and fights that interrupted instruction, including an ambulance response after a dismissal altercation and a two‑hour holding place when a student and parent had a crisis. Roxanne Angst, a parent of an 11th grader, said the school has about 1,100 students and “less than 5%” are causing repeated disruptions that she says have “a significant impact” on the majority who attend responsibly.

Courtney Cardo, a parent with children in three district schools, described disruptive behavior in elementary inclusion classrooms and urged the board to consider the education lost by students who must leave class or are distracted by repeated disruptions.

Speakers listed specific safety concerns mentioned to the board: locked bathrooms (including denial of bathroom access despite medical notes), multiple in‑school physical fights (more than five reported since the start of the school year by one speaker), reports of weapons (a taser and a reported knife), an incident in which a former student was let into the high school, and social‑media posts showing a student with a gun. Speakers pressed the board for more security staff, cameras near restrooms, increased social‑work staffing and clearer consequences for repeated misbehavior.

Superintendent Smalling responded after public comment, thanking speakers and saying the district “hears you” and recognizes the concerns. Smalling listed district steps taken in recent years: expanded membership on the Student and Parent Voice and Code of Conduct committees; additional positions dedicated to violence prevention, social workers and counselors; training in social‑emotional learning and restorative practices; “Leader in Me” at K–8; regular mediations; behavior contracts for some chronic cases; and short and long suspensions when required.

Smalling emphasized that these are complex, system‑wide issues and said the district is continuing work with families and community partners to address root causes. He invited families to engage with school teams and said the district will remain focused on schools where concerns have been raised.

Ending: Board members thanked speakers for coming. Several board members urged continued family involvement, and the superintendent said the schools that have raised concerns will remain a focus as the district pursues prevention, support and accountability measures. No formal board action or vote on new safety policy occurred at the meeting.