Students and youth representatives used the School Committee’s public-comment period to press for programmatic changes and better school responsiveness.

Speakers asked the committee to allocate more resources to comprehensive sexual-health education, violence-prevention programming and staff training rather than additional security or noninstructional spending. Students also described administrative failures to follow up on promised meetings and cited closed library space as an example of poor communication and support.

Andrea Mendez, a sophomore at Chelsea High School, told the committee that she and other students were promised a meeting by Principal Obed Morales after a student panel on March 20 but the principal called out the next school day and the scheduled library follow-up was blocked when the library closed. “This lack of commitment makes us feel…we are not valued,” Mendez said, describing frustration with how student concerns were handled.

Michael Sanabrio, a senior, said the administration has prioritized spending on cafeteria renovations, bathrooms and increased security rather than on teacher pay and class size reductions. “True safety extends beyond security personnel and bag searches and includes ensuring students have access to a well supported learning environment with dedicated, experienced educators,” Sanabrio said.

Several students urged expanded violence-prevention education to teach conflict resolution, communication and emotional regulation. Max Castellon, a student speaker, said recent incidents — including a teen death and an intruder at the school referenced in public comments — reinforced the need for programming he described as immediate and long-term supports for students.

Student representatives at the meeting also reported curricular and extracurricular updates, including spring athletics, the school musical and MCAS testing dates. Committee members responded by outlining paths for student input, including school-site councils and school-level budgets, and said portions of the adopted general fund budget can be reallocated within large line items to fund training or new courses.

Ending: Committee members and the superintendent thanked students for their testimony and encouraged continued engagement through existing school and district channels such as site councils and scheduled budget-input sessions.