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Public forum spotlights student petition for dress-down option and allegations against trustee; transportation union seeks paperwork
Summary
Public commenters at the April 22 School City of East Chicago meeting urged a dress-down pilot, criticized a trustee’s social-media conduct and requested completion of a negotiated transportation contract; the board said staff would accept complaints and follow up.
Several public commenters at the School City of East Chicago board meeting on April 22 raised issues ranging from a student petition seeking a dress-down option to allegations that a trustee made inappropriate social-media comments.
Jonathan Alaya, a junior at East Chicago Central High School, delivered a petition he said he had circulated asking the district to pilot a dress-down option for one school year or semester instead of requiring uniforms. "If you see that the dress code violations increase in the 2025–26 school year, then we go back to the uniforms," Alaya said, arguing that a dress-down option could reduce cost burdens on families and allow students to express themselves.
Several residents addressed alleged conduct by Trustee Jesse Gomez. Elizabeth Vargas told the board she had been repeatedly harassed on social media by what she described as comments from Jesse Gomez, including a question she said he posted asking, "where do you like to be grabbed at," which she said made her feel sick and was inappropriate given his position on the board. Ray Castaneda said he had copies of the social-media comments and offered them to the board; the board president invited him to remain after the meeting and present materials to board staff for a formal complaint.
Kenneth Mobley, a union steward representing the transportation department, told the board that his group reached a tentative agreement with administration about six and a half weeks earlier and asked for the paperwork so unit members could vote on the contract and move it to the board agenda for ratification.
Other commenters, including Helen Steinbach, thanked the board for approving an MOU that would allow teachers to be paid for extra work outside their contract and said she had previously filed complaints about Trustee Gomez’s conduct. The board and administration said staff would accept any complaints and follow up with complainants after the meeting.
Why it matters: Public comment raised both policy ideas (a student-led petition to test a dress-down option) and conduct issues that trustees may need to address as part of board ethics or personnel procedures. A union request to place a tentative transportation contract on a future agenda seeks to move a negotiated agreement toward final ratification.
What the board said it would do: The board president invited commenters to provide supporting materials after the meeting and directed staff to follow up. There is no record in the transcript excerpt of formal board action on the petition, the social-media allegations or the transportation contract paperwork request during this meeting.
