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Residents urge retention of DEI language, raise hiring-committee and school-safety concerns
Summary
Public commenters and trustees discussed proposed changes to district DEI language, hiring-committee selection practices, Bridge-program expansion to grade 6, and safety concerns at George Fisher Middle School; trustees pledged further review and data.
During the meeting's public-comment period residents raised questions about district policy language and hiring practices and asked the board to preserve protective DEI language.
Megan Williams (Lake Carmel) asked how hiring committees are formed, saying she had observed the same community members repeatedly tapped to serve and urged the district to broaden its pool. She also urged expanding the Bridge program to sixth grade so students who need smaller-class environments can access support earlier in middle school transition years.
Multiple speakers addressed a proposed change to policy 0012 (DEI-related language). Jenny Lambert and others called on the board to retain language that explicitly lists protected groups and to resist removing references that protect marginalized students; Lambert said keeping the language helps prevent discrimination and harassment.
Trustee Wise referenced a recent town-hall meeting and described threats reported at George Fisher Middle School, saying the district is working with law enforcement and that parents raised safety concerns. Multiple trustees acknowledged the public input and said the policy changes would be brought back as a first read at a future meeting rather than advanced immediately.
Board members thanked speakers for civic engagement and asked administration to provide additional transparency on hiring-committee selection procedures, SRO/crime-reporting data and legal-fee breakdowns that trustees have requested previously.
