Maylene Shirts, a parent, told the Leavenworth USD 453 Board of Education during unscheduled patron input on Oct. 13 that the district’s handling of bullying and its inconsistent policies had damaged students’ safety and driven families to enroll elsewhere.

“Parents are forced to fight through confusing systems, inconsistent procedures, and a culture that too often just dismisses their concerns rather than addressing them at all,” Shirts said. She told the board she personally knew of five families who left the district in the last year, and she urged trustees to strengthen policies and consistency across schools.

Shirts also thanked a district employee—identified in the transcript as Alyssa—for responding to her initial email and said more consistent, transparent processes are needed for families to report and resolve concerns. “I don't want to have to spend every day waiting to hear from my son when he gets home from school to find out if he's been okay,” she said.

Board members responded with expressions of thanks for Shirts’ comments and several trustees used their closing remarks to encourage families to attend upcoming parent‑teacher conferences and to contact teachers or administrators when concerns arise. No formal board action was recorded in response to the public comment during the meeting.

Why it matters: shirts linked family departures to district policy and culture, connecting the public‑comment concerns to the enrollment decline staff presented earlier in the meeting.

Next steps: the board did not record a specific follow‑up motion at the meeting; the transcript shows trustees received the comment and acknowledged it during closing remarks.