Parents and community members urge more prevention after multiple youth deaths; superintendent outlines supports

Multiple parents and community members used the board's public-comment period on March 4 to urge more proactive mental-health programming after a string of local student and young-adult deaths.

"On December 22, my wife and I lost our son to a suicide. Our son's name is Kevin," said Carl Usoitz, who told the board that, "in the past four months, three other children have been lost," and asked what the district is doing to create a "programmed organization to get in front of this problem." Usoitz pressed staff on whether students had been addressed as whole-school bodies or class by class and asked about tools for parents and students to report concerns.

Karen Baker, who said she organized a nonprofit after her 22‑year‑old son's death on May 23, 2024, told board members she shares that story to "open the door of conversations" and urged systemic action to reach students earlier and provide supports that help them speak about their struggles.

Jimmy Baker, who identified himself as a long-time police officer, described a presentation he gives that he said has opened conversations in schools and first-responder training. "We work with the counselors, the coaches, whoever brings us in," he said, offering resources and materials to the district.

Superintendent Dr. Kibler opened the evening's remarks with a staff statement acknowledging the tragedies and describing the district's response: "We want to remind folks that we do have multiple preventative measures in place across our schools," she said, and added that grief counseling and resources "will continue to be available for both students and staff." Kibler said the district has been following "established research-based best practices" and that staff participated in a county-organized meeting with mental-health providers and county partners to coordinate supports; she said the collaboration will continue through a smaller working group focused on prevention and strengthening ongoing support.

Board members thanked the speakers and asked staff to continue working with county and state partners. No new formal programs were approved at the March 4 meeting; speakers asked the board to press for additional resources and to pursue earlier, school-based prevention efforts.

Next steps described by staff included continued collaboration with county agencies, enhanced in-school grief counseling and a working group with state partners to identify further preventive measures and formalize supports for affected schools.