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Parent and aide urges board to make middle school track ADA accessible, citing safety concerns
Summary
Katherine Smyser, a parent and district teacher aide, told the board the middle school track is inaccessible to wheelchair users and cited missing fencing and safety hazards; she asked the board to consider maintenance and accessibility upgrades not included in the capital project.
Katherine Smyser, identified in the minutes as a parent and teacher aide for the district, used public comment to press the board for attention to long-term building maintenance not addressed in the current capital project. Smyser said the middle school track is not ADA accessible and described safety gaps near the track.
"Our wheelchair user students who participate in gym class have to wheel themselves around the tennis courts while their peers go around the track," Smyser said, and she noted there is currently no fencing between the track and the former Value City parking lot or Maple Road, raising safety concerns. Smyser said prior conversations with Superintendent Michael V. Ginestre and district staff, including Mr. Feldmann, had been "very amenable," but she asked the board to consider addressing the issue outside the capital plan.
Why it matters: Accessibility and fencing affect student safety and inclusion in physical education. Smyser framed the problem as both an inclusion issue for students with disabilities and a public-facing safety concern for the middle school site.
What the minutes record: The public comment was made during the open session portion of the meeting; the minutes document the concern but do not record a formal motion or a board directive in response.
