WATERBORO, Maine — RSU 57 held a regularly scheduled board meeting on Wednesday but immediately made adjustments to their agenda at the start of the meeting.
They moved their executive session, which is a closed portion of the meeting that allows them to handle confidential matters, up to the top of the meeting. They then moved the superintendent's report to follow it.
The board then left the room for about an hour and, when they came back out, Superintendent Stephen Marquis addressed the public, reading a written statement. In it, Marquis acknowledged the deaths of two students in recent months.
Kyah Travis took her own life on April 9, at 16 years old. She was a student at Massabesic High School.
This was not the first meeting since Kyah's death. The board met on April 10, the day after Kyah passed. They addressed the loss of a student and said they would have extra resources available at the school to help students process what happened.
In the days after Kyah's death, her mother, Liza Travis, as well as several other parents, took to social media to address bullying concerns at the school. A Facebook group titled "Massabesic RSU 57 Victims of Bullying" now has 308 members.
In Marquis' statement at the board meeting on April 24th, he addressed public claims that have surrounded the recent tragedies and said student safety is the district's number one priority.
"Let me be clear: we have much work to do to support the mental health and well-being of our students. This challenge is not unique to RSU 57, but it is a challenge, nonetheless, that we are committed to solving," he said.
Marquis then formally requested the school board commission hire a third party agent to audit the school district's current system of responding to students experiencing crisis of any nature. The board voted to grant his request. A "yes" vote does not solidify the audit will happen, but it means they will be exploring it as an option.
At the meeting was a small group of parents who were hoping to hear the district acknowledge these issues.
Lauri Matos addressed the board during the public comment portion of the meeting, saying her two kids have been subjected to bullying since middle school and she doesn't believe the school's response has been adequate. When her daughter has filed a report for bullying, Matos said the protocol has been to have a "no contact" order, which forbids certain students from making contact with each other after an incident happens. However, Matos said these orders not enforced.
"I can assure you my daughter is still talking to several of the kids she's not supposed to be talking to. Two of them have personally told her to go kill herself," Matos said.
She added that she was hoping to discuss these concerns with the board, but the protocol for the public comment portion of the meeting does not include an immediate response from school administration.
"I feel like I wasted my time. I didn't know that we weren't going to have any communication with them to answer any questions about the bullying, the policies, procedures and repercussions," Matos explained.
Matos also said she does not believe the school's decision to request an independent review is an adequate response.
"It was just another blanket statement to cover what's going on. Based on tonight, I didn't see or hear any plans of change other than they plan on coming up with one," Matos said. "I just expected bullying to be on the agenda and to be a heck of a lot bigger than it was, because it really wasn't on there at all until we showed up."
Heather Chase, another parent who was present at the meeting, also shared her thoughts.
"Words are easy, actions are hard. Right now, I won't believe anything until I see constructive change," she said. "I have two children who are very young, and I want them to be alive in 10 years."