Multiple Upper Dublin residents used the public-comment portion of the Dec. 15 meeting to press the board on student safety, transportation and curriculum.

Jen Chaffetz, who identified herself as a resident of Ambler and a parent, told the board she and other parents submitted a petition "that we started a few weeks ago has over 500 signatures" asking the district to relocate junior and senior proms away from current contracted venues in Bensalem and City Ave (Hilton on City Ave). Chaffetz said parents are concerned that current venues require students to travel long distances late at night and that the hotel locations are in areas with higher local crime rates: "The Bensalem Hotel is directly across the street from a pay by the hour hotel where there have been shootouts and there have been murders," she said, and argued the district should consider nearer venues used by neighboring districts.

Other parents urged broader engagement. Jenny Vitella asked why certain student activities require board approval and argued in favor of a larger town-hall format so all stakeholders could hear the same information rather than multiple small-group meetings. Grace Chaffetz, a recent graduate who said she drove to both junior and senior prom, described Lincoln Drive as "an extremely narrow winding road" and said that route makes late-night commutes for inexperienced teen drivers risky.

A separate speaker, Dan Schwartz, a longtime Upper Dublin resident and second-generation survivor of the Holocaust, urged the board to expand Holocaust education at the high-school level and offered to coordinate speakers through the Holocaust Awareness Museum and Education Center in Jenkintown. Dr. Smith and Ms. Drennan responded that the district does provide Holocaust-related material in world history and world literature courses, that students read Elie Wiesel's Night and that the district holds an annual remembrance ceremony. Dr. Smith said administrators have heard parents' concerns about prom locations and are "doing our due diligence" and will follow up when the district has more information.

Why it matters: parents and students said venue location affects safety and student experience; several asked for greater transparency and broader public discussion before contracts are signed or renewed.

What happens next: administration said it will continue to meet with parent groups and provide follow-up information; the board and staff encouraged parents to share contact information and suggested continued dialogue in upcoming weeks.