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Parents urge clarity on enrollment and air conditioning; one parent alleges safety lapses at Hazelwood
Summary
During public comment, parents asked for updated enrollment numbers and classroom air-conditioning status and raised safety concerns about actions at Hazelwood School; a parent alleged failures in shelter/lockdown response and criticized a principal's handling of field-day logistics.
Parents used the board's public comment periods to press the district on enrollment figures, classroom air conditioning and campus safety.
Cheryl Torges asked for clarification of the bills list and enrollment counts, pointing to a $5.85 entry listed as an "estimated purchase" and asking whether a separate $41,841 on the bills lists was additional to invoices for the generator project. Business administrator Annette Giordano explained that the $5.85 represented an invoice payment while the PO language can show an "estimate," and that the $41,841 referenced part of the large capital project allowance (the separate agenda item sought approval to use some of the contract allowance, not to pay invoices already submitted).
Torges also asked for confirmation of current enrollment counts and whether all classrooms have air conditioning; she asked finance/facilities to verify the district's inventory and any steps needed to secure additional units.
Another parent, Melissa Zymax, raised procedural questions about how contract-renewal notifications and conflicts of interest are handled and then described multiple incidents at Hazelwood School, alleging that on a recent school day staff did not shelter or lockdown when police brought a suspect to the building and that a separate field-day incident left third graders without the same food experience as other classes. Zymax said parents approached staff and that, in her view, staff responses were inadequate and that "there will come a time when it's not someone harmless, and that will be on your hands." No board member provided a point-for-point rebuttal on the public record during the comment period.
The board acknowledged the questions. The chair and administrators said some personnel and contract procedure matters may need to be addressed in executive session; the superintendent and business administrator offered to provide procedural clarifications where possible without discussing confidential personnel matters in public.
Next steps: administrators said they would provide additional enrollment information and seek to clarify contract-notification processes to the extent permitted by personnel/conflict rules; facilities staff were asked to confirm air-conditioning coverage in classrooms and to report back.
