Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Resident Jessica Dutter urges Mid Valley SD to review shorts policy and bus supervision after alleged bullying incident
Summary
At the Nov. 20 Mid Valley School District Board meeting, resident Jessica Dutter said her children were treated inconsistently under the district’s shorts policy and reported repeated bullying of her 7‑year‑old daughter on bus No. 4, including an incident in which the child was slapped; district staff offered to follow up.
Jessica Dutter, a resident and parent, used the public-comment period at the Nov. 20 Mid Valley School District Board meeting to raise two concerns: inconsistent enforcement of the district’s shorts policy and repeated bullying on her daughter’s school bus.
Dutter said her three children wore shorts on the same day and her son was repeatedly sent to the office for wearing shorts, even on days that were warm. "He didn't get written up thankfully because I argued that... Neither of us could find it anywhere written in the policy," she told the board, urging the district to clarify whether the rule should be weather-dependent rather than enforced by a fixed cutoff date.
Dutter also described repeated bullying on bus No. 4 and said the situation escalated until the district assigned an aide to the bus. "My daughter was continuously getting bullied on the bus... my daughter got slapped in the face and she's only 7," she said. Dutter said she had raised the issue with district staff and parents in her neighborhood and pressed the board to evaluate supervision, seating assignments and crossing-guard coverage near her neighborhood after learning the crossing guard plans to move.
District staff and board members responded on the record that they would follow up. Mr. Sheen asked Dutter to remain after the meeting so staff could collect contact information for direct follow-up; board members thanked Dutter for bringing the concerns to the public forum.
Why it matters Dutter described both a discipline-policy concern that affects how rules are applied to students and a safety issue on school transportation that the district said it would investigate. The transcript records a staff commitment to follow up but does not record policy language or a specific timeline for corrective action.
Next steps Mr. Sheen offered to contact Dutter after the meeting to gather details and the administration said it would review the dress-code posting and transportation supervision practices.
