Parents tell Chandler Unified board students were harmed; call for accountability and policy changes

Two parents pressed the Chandler Unified School District governing board on Wednesday evening to investigate and change how the district handles reports of student harm, saying district leaders have prioritized reputation over safety.

At the board’s June 25 meeting, Katie McPherson described multiple students coming forward to report alleged abuse beginning in 2020 and recounted what she called slow or inconsistent responses by administrators and law enforcement. “The survivor took 2 years to come forward,” McPherson said. “His calculated pattern of attempts to gain trust, invade personal boundaries, appear relatable, and groom our children happened very quickly.”

Bridget Vega followed, telling the board she and other parents were repeatedly dismissed after reporting violence and threats at several high schools. “Your leadership chose silence over safety, power over protection, reputation over responsibility,” Vega said. She criticized district responses to alleged hazing and threats and urged the board to seek a superintendent with “courage, honesty, integrity, transparency.”

The public-comment admonition read at the meeting cited Arizona Revised Statutes 38-431.01 and the board did not enter debate on the allegations during the public-comment segment; instead the board proceeded to the consent agenda after the speakers finished. Superintendent Frank Narducci acknowledged receiving reports in individual cases earlier in his remarks but did not offer specifics in response to the commenters at the meeting.

Why it matters: Parents at the meeting characterized the issues as recurring and cross-campus and asked the board to use its oversight role to ensure timely investigations, clearer reporting to law enforcement and better communication to families. District policy and state law limit what school boards can do in open session about personnel matters, but parents at the meeting said those constraints should not prevent the district from informing families about safety actions taken.

At the meeting, board members did not vote or direct staff to open a new, board-level inquiry; they moved on to the listed agenda items. The district’s public materials referenced by board staff state that student immigration status is not collected and that student records are confidential; the board did not announce any changes to those policies Wednesday.

The comments at the June 25 meeting are part of a sequence of public concerns that parents said they have raised with the district over multiple school years. Speakers asked the board to consider engaging outside experts, to stop relying primarily on legal counsel, and to ensure student interviews and forensic investigations are completed in a timely manner.

What’s next: The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting is July 9; parents and community members can raise matters again at the public-comment period. The district did not announce any board-directed special investigation during the June 25 session.