School safety, transportation among issues raised at South Bend school board meeting

SOUTH BEND — Several controversial issues dominated the public comment portion of Wednesday's South Bend Community School Corporation (SBCSC) board meeting in the Riley High School auditorium, while board members provided an update to the start of the school year.

Common topics raised by board members, school representatives and attendees included busing, school safety, communication issues and complications from the recent series of school mergers.

While the meeting's original agenda allocated only 45 minutes for public comments, restricted to three minutes apiece, board member Jeanette McCullough moved to lift the limit. The public comment section lasted for more than an hour, with a line of attendees waiting to address the board stretching out of the auditorium.

Busing

Deputy Superintendent Sarita Stevens addressed the recent transportation issues, saying consolidating some of the schools meant new bus routes and boundaries needed to be created.

"We knew we had to do alignment with our student routes. Yes, that does take days after school starts, because there's some things that you don't anticipate that you have to go back in for," Stevens said. "We did make necessary adjustments of routes. And guess what? We still have to make adjustments because there are special routes, like students getting into CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs … (and) new students coming in."

However, attendees raised concerns about the busing situation, with several parents sharing that their children had been left at school due to miscommunication or a late bus.

One parent said her autistic son was left at school twice because of confusion over when he was supposed to leave.

"He's not allowed to ride the activity bus. A stranger brought … my son home, actually," she said. "He's smart, and he's gonna go places, he's gonna do amazing things, OK? And right now, we're struggling just to get him back and forth to school."

School safety

Several attendees voiced concerns over school safety, referring to recent incidents at Jackson Middle School that led to all athletics competitions at the school being suspended for three weeks.

Some parents said the decision to suspend sporting competitions is unfair to the students who are behaving. One father said his son has been "waiting for years and years to play sports," only to have them canceled.

"These little kids are getting punished for some of these bad kids," he said.

One speaker said the issue lies not with Jackson's principal, Jory Hardman, but with "structural and institutional racism that we continue to allow happen in this district." She added that the issues being raised have been around "for at least 10 years."

Another attendee said he does not often come to school board meetings but decided to attend on Wednesday to comment on the school safety issue, especially in light of the school shooting in Georgia that happened earlier in the day.

"The biggest problem we have right now? Our kids can't get educated if they're not safe," he said. "We had another school shooting today — 30 injured and four dead was the last count I heard. We've been fortunate. We haven't seen that in our schools yet. But guess what? It's in our streets, and it's gotten worse year after year. … How long do you think it's going to be before it comes into the school?"

A security guard from Rise Up Academy also spoke, wearing his bright yellow security jacket. "I'm team South Bend," he said, going on to share his experience working in security.

He commended Hardman, Riley High School Principal Shawn Henderson and Edison Middle School Assistant Principal Wesley Lee for their dedication and hard work; however, he said, the violence and behavioral issues seen among some students requires not only educators but parents to step up.

"I wear my yellow shirt, and I stand saddened because guys that work next to me have got hurt while they're working," he said. "We're educators, we're not babysitters. We need our parents to get real involved. … It takes all of us."

Consolidation complications

Another common issue raised centered around issues arising from the series of mergers consolidating schools across the district.

In addition to comments supporting former Principal Jesus Pedraza, who said he has been placed on administrative leave, teachers and parents shared concerns over lack of communication and overcrowding.

More: 'We feel lied to': Public concerned over former South Bend principal placed on leave

One attendee, who said she has been a SBCSC teacher for 27 years, used her time before the board to announce her resignation.

"I have loved teaching, and it's been my passion, but what I have gone through … has brought me to this point," she said. "So many of us are being shuffled around from school to school without any regard for our place within our school community."

She said she was told in February that she was being transferred to Dickinson Fine Arts Academy to teach first grade. However, she said, she was given one classroom for 26 students across three grade levels.

Stevens addressed the issue of teacher vacancies, saying it is a "problem all over the country."

"We're not using it as an excuse," she said. "What we're doing is looking at the schools that have the highest vacancy rates and making sure that they have subs in those places."

Stevens added that SBCSC is offering a teacher apprenticeship program that pays for participants to receive a teaching degree to further offset vacancies.

Other parents said that due to the consolidation of McKinley Elementary School and Edison Middle School, their kindergarten and elementary-aged children do not have a playground or age-appropriate bathroom facilities.

In response, board President Stuart Greene said, "What we're hearing tonight is that we took on a pretty ambitious project, and now we are seeing results of some of that ambition, but we want to get things in place — Lord knows we need a bathroom for kids to be able to reach."

Other agenda items

• SBCSC representatives outlined literacy goals for the year, including 85% of elementary students, 50% of middle school students and 88% of high school students reading on grade level. However, several board members voiced concerns that a goal of 50% was too low for the middle school level. Adams responded that, given last year's averages, 50% is "achievable, but it's also very challenging," making it a realistic goal for the year.

• The board voted 5-1 to approve a Memorandum of Understanding on the LOGAN Center. The MOU included a use and license agreement between SBCSC and LOGAN Community Resources, Inc., a nonprofit organization providing "services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities," according to the document. According to the MOA, SBCSC will provide classroom space in Darden Elementary School for LOGAN instructors to teach children with disabilities. Board member McCullough made a motion to table the item until the board could have a chance to discuss amendments made to the MOA, although the motion failed.

• Two attendees called for Superintendent Todd Cummings to be replaced, citing concerns over decisions made under his leadership.

Email Tribune staff writer Rayleigh Deaton at rdeaton@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend school board hears concerns about busing, school safety