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Parents, staff raise safety concerns about reduced lunch and recess supervision at Coolidge and districtwide
Summary
Two speakers at public comment urged the Livonia board to clarify adult-to-student supervision ratios after reported cuts to lunch and recess coverage; speakers cited recommended ratios and expressed safety worries for young children and those with medical needs.
At the Livonia Public Schools board meeting, two attendees during audience communications pressed the district to clarify student-to-adult supervision ratios for recess and lunch after what they described as staffing cuts.
Chris Flanagan, a Coolidge Elementary paraeducator and longtime district volunteer, told the board he is worried about fewer adults outside for lunch and recess. Flanagan said volunteers are helpful but inconsistent, and he described specific concerns about children with health conditions and the difficulty of supervising large groups while tending to a single injured or ill child.
Melissa Austin, a parent and noon monitor at Coolidge Elementary, told the board she had been told this year a 1-to-100 student-to-adult ratio would be used for recess and lunch. She said national guidance from Shape America and the Centers for Disease Control recommends supervision at least equal to classroom ratios and that existing local contract language sets classroom staffing at roughly 1-to-30 for young five/kindergarten, 1-to-32 for grades 1'3 and 1-to-35 for grades 4'6. Austin said those classroom ratios are not appropriate for open playground environments and urged the board to publish an explicit, public standard for recess and lunch supervision.
Austin also raised training concerns, saying many volunteers have not completed the district's regular training (FERPA, allergy response, bloodborne pathogens, active-shooter protocols) and that reliance on volunteers without consistent schedules makes it harder for adults to know students' medical needs.
Both speakers asked the board to review current policies and either adopt published supervision ratios that match classroom expectations or otherwise ensure children's safety. Board members did not take policy action during the meeting; audience communications is an allotted comment period and the board indicated these concerns would be received for follow-up.
