Parma City School District meeting draws outpouring of grief and demand for metal detectors and mental-health supports after Valley Forge death

The Parma City School District board heard more than two hours of public testimony on April 23 as students, parents and residents demanded immediate steps to prevent another tragedy at Valley Forge High School.

Superintendent Dr. Hunt opened the meeting with condolences for the family and said the district is cooperating with law enforcement, respecting student privacy and will conduct a comprehensive review of safety and security protocols. "We will provide updates to our community as information is confirmed and appropriate to share," Dr. Hunt said, and he outlined a return-to-school plan with staggered schedules at Valley Forge and Normandy High Schools and expanded access to counseling services.

Community speakers urged faster, more visible measures. "We need metal detectors," said Patrick Lloyd, a 12th-grade student at Valley Forge, who said he heard gunshots and was within about 30 feet of the scene. "We need to petition whoever has the money to get us that money. And we don't have to be nice about it. We have to be direct and we have to be loud about it because we need it." Several other students and parents made similar appeals for metal detectors, clearer access control, and increased law-enforcement presence inside buildings.

Parents and advocates also emphasized mental-health supports and reporting systems. "Mental-health support matters," Erica Smolick told the board. "A counselor cannot detect a weapon in a backpack. Something needs to change now." Other commenters asked the board to push state lawmakers for emergency funding to deploy temporary metal detectors while longer-term funding is sought.

At the meeting, Hillary Jackson, who identified herself as a parental-rights advocate representing multiple parents, urged the board to remove or refuse reassignment of the Greenbryer Middle School principal, alleging repeated misconduct and incomplete records responses. The board did not take personnel action on that request that night; rules about discussing personnel and student matters in public limited what the board could respond to in the meeting.

Dr. Hunt outlined recent grant awards totaling about $1.7 million since 2020 that funded radios, cameras, vestibule security upgrades and related equipment, and said the district will convene a superintendent safety committee that will include administrators, board members, law enforcement, mental-health professionals and outside experts. He also said two board members may sit on that committee and that detailed membership would be announced after the investigative process concludes.

The public-comment period grew heated late in the meeting when a speaker's remarks prompted disruptions; the presiding officer ended public comment and the board moved to new business before voting to adjourn to executive session. The board also voted to move future meetings to Valley Forge High School beginning May 7 to improve meeting space and acoustics.

Next steps identified publicly: the district will continue its coordination with law enforcement, increase law-enforcement presence at Valley Forge for the immediate reopening, convene the superintendent safety committee after the investigation, and share confirmed information with the community as allowed by privacy and investigative constraints. The district posted crisis resources during the meeting (Safer Ohio tipline 844-723-3764; 988 and 988lifeeline.org).