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Resident urges Porter County Council to release records after student complaints; council offers no immediate response
Summary
During public comment, resident Kathy Watts said multiple former students reported feeling uncomfortable in a council member's classroom and asked the council to release records and be transparent; the council closed public comment without a substantive reply.
Kathy Watts, who identified herself as a resident of Porter County, told the council she was speaking "because this moment calls for clarity, accountability, and leadership." Watts said several former students have come forward in recent days describing interactions in a council member's classroom that left them feeling uncomfortable and urged the council to release any personnel records, findings or documentation that could bring clarity to the community.
"When multiple voices come forward expressing discomfort from a place where they were supposed to feel safe, we have a responsibility to listen," Watts said. She asked the council to allow the public to see information that could restore trust, saying the request was "not about rumor" or politics but about accountability.
The presiding officer closed the public comment period after three calls for speakers and did not announce any immediate administrative action in response on the record. Earlier in the meeting, the newly introduced county council attorney, Adam Mendel, said local entities may adopt rules to require relevancy and civility during public comments and that such rules must be applied neutrally.
No formal complaint process or records release was detailed during the meeting and no council member made a public statement addressing the substance of the allegations in the meeting record. The request for transparency therefore remains unresolved in the public record.
