Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Comment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Community speakers urge more counselors, aides and librarians; raise safety and book‑disposal concerns
Summary
Multiple public commenters at the School City of Hammond meeting urged immediate action on school safety, called for restored librarian positions and additional special‑education aides, and described instances of fights and a dumpster full of discarded books at Kenwood Elementary.
Community members used the meeting's public‑comment period to press the board on school safety, staffing and library resources.
A former EMT and public commenter, Mary Ellen SLC, urged broader AED and first‑aid training for staff and suggested annual refreshers instead of biennial recertification. She said community and older students might help if trained.
Cynthia Cruz, speaking as a community member and a licensed teacher who said she had been recently "riffed" (laid off), said the district had eliminated librarians and other supports while student reading scores remain low; she pointed to images of a dumpster full of books from Kenwood Elementary and called for returning librarian positions to prevent further declines in literacy.
Robin Bellamy described abrupt classroom consolidations that combined two classes after a grading period, said Franklin Elementary needs an assistant principal and characterized working conditions in some classrooms as "a hostile work environment" with fights, theft and chronic disruption.
Dr Michaela Spangberg, a clinical psychologist representing an education coalition, offered free suicide‑prevention trainings and questioned the district's spending on Neola policy services, saying some statutory citations in the packet appeared incorrect and urging more careful review.
District CFO Eric Herz supplied enrollment figures for several schools during public remarks, which a commenter later repeated for the public record: Hicks 622, Franklin 235, Edison 704, Jefferson 570, Harding 752, Irving 754, middle school totals and Hammond Central estimated at about 1,814.
Board members thanked speakers and acknowledged overlap between public concerns and the policy topics under review (safety, counseling capacity, materials access). No immediate policy changes were adopted during the meeting; trustees asked staff to bring administrative guidelines and to follow up on staffing and safety questions.
The public‑comment period captured community urgency on school safety, staffing shortages and the district's approach to instructional materials and library services.
