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Trustees question Parent University speaker, citing topic alignment and Title I spending; motion fails
Summary
Board members pressed staff about how Parent University topics and a keynote speaker were chosen and about the use of Title I family engagement funds; trustees voted down the speaker contract after debate and public questions.
The School City of East Chicago Board of School Trustees on April 22 declined to approve a proposed Parent University keynote-speaker contract after trustees raised concerns about the speaker’s agenda, the size of the expense and whether the board had been notified before staff committed funds.
Trustee Rodriguez moved approval of item 6.06, and Trustee Smith seconded. Trustees questioned how the committee chose topics and how many parents had registered. Committee members and staff said outreach included bilingual flyers, robocalls, ClassDojo posts and social-media posts; staff said the event had roughly 49 registrants at the time of the meeting. Mrs. Simmons and other staff said the proposed event was to be funded from Title I family engagement allocations.
"We have to approve this. If you knew this was coming, you should have met with us," Trustee Smith said during the meeting, arguing that approval should have been sought before committing funds. Trustee Taylor pressed for registration and outreach specifics. Board President Gibson King and other trustees asked for clarity on how the keynote’s content addressed district-specific needs, such as services for English learners and other locally pressing topics.
Staff told trustees the keynote would be universal in tone and that breakout sessions would address district-specific topics — including a session by an immigration lawyer and sessions on updated graduation requirements, student monitoring (including vaping prevention) and Skyward training for parents. Committee members said principals and district staff helped produce promotional videos and that the superintendent’s message was posted on district social channels.
On roll-call, Trustee Rodriguez voted yes; Trustees Smith, Taylor and President Gibson King voted no. The transcript records those votes; other trustees’ votes are not recorded in the excerpt. The motion did not receive enough affirmative votes and failed as recorded.
Why it matters: The board’s vote prevented the district from committing Title I family-engagement funds to the proposed keynote-speaker contract pending further documentation and possibly a revised proposal. Trustees emphasized adherence to procurement and board-notification procedures when federal funds are used for family engagement.
What staff said they would do next: Staff collected questions during the meeting and agreed to provide the board with a full registration count, an itemized budget for the Parent University event and further justification for speaker selection and breakout topics. The Parent University event had been scheduled for May 3 at East Chicago Central High School; no additional board action on resubmitting the item appears in the transcript excerpt.
