Parent tells Milan Area Schools board her 9-year-old was told she was on a 'kill list'; asks for stronger safety measures

Jenny Alrod told the Milan Area Schools Board of Education that her nine-year-old daughter was called a slur and told she was on a “kill list,” and said district staff classified the incident as “transient” and returned the other student to the same classroom after a two-day in-school suspension. “For my daughter, this is a very real threat,” Alrod said during the meeting’s public-comment period, describing the emotional toll and saying her child “believes she's in the room every day with someone who wants to kill her.”

Alrod said she asked the district to remove her daughter from the classroom; that request was denied. She described a list of safety measures the district put in place — separation rules, additional adult support, weekly check-ins with a staff member identified as Miss Schwarz, and the ability for her daughter to contact home — but said those measures had already failed when, three days after the suspension, the other student sat next to her daughter in class. “Separation in the same classroom does not seem like separation in all areas of the school to me,” Alrod said.

During a second public-comment period later in the meeting Alrod told the board she had seen an unfamiliar adult at morning dropoff and said that person is “a teacher consultant” who she understands is a close relative of the student who threatened her daughter. She asked the board to explain how the district would avoid any conflict of interest and to assure that her daughter would not be removed from the classroom as a consequence of her raising concerns publicly.

Two other parents who spoke supported Alrod’s concerns about safety and communication. Jennifer Corker said her son was punched at a before-school program and parents were not notified; she called the program coordinator’s response to her inquiry “dismissive.” Another parent, Ashley Iikner Pendle, said staffing instability among paraprofessionals has left some families anxious because children who rely on consistent support are affected when assistants change.

Board members did not take formal action on the safety claims during the meeting. The chair reminded the public that the board typically refers operational and disciplinary matters to the superintendent for advisement, investigation, study, or recommendation. The meeting record shows no public rebuttal or detailed staff report addressing Alrod’s specific allegations during the session.

Next steps: the board’s published public-participation rules state that such items are normally referred to the superintendent; parents were told the district’s internal processes and confidentiality rules (FERPA) limit the detail that can be shared in public comment. The district did not announce at the meeting any immediate change to the student’s placement or additional formal measures beyond the safety steps Alrod described.