Yvonne Gonzalez Guzman told the Board of Education on July 30 that her daughter was left alone on school grounds after a district field trip that returned outside regular school hours, and she urged the board to clarify who is responsible for ensuring students are picked up safely.

The issue matters, Gonzalez Guzman said, because some students have individualized needs: “A student, especially students who have IEPs and 504s,” she said, “what happened to our daughter should never happen to any student in this district.”

Board President Bridal Mallon acknowledged the concern and offered to have the superintendent follow up privately. Superintendent Joseph T. Sentimore told the family he would speak with them after the meeting and described the district’s current practice: chaperones are generally expected to remain until students are picked up; security staff are on campus to oversee the premises but are not typically assigned the primary role of student supervision after trips that return during normal after‑school activity periods.

Sentimore said timing affects which adults remain on site. “With this particular trip that day, the return time was the same time of normal after‑school activities,” he said. “At the secondary level, when kids are getting out of clubs and athletics, oftentimes they’re waiting to get picked up, and we have security not there to supervise the children, but they’re on grounds … to oversee the premises.”

Board members offered to have the superintendent contact the family to discuss specifics; no formal change to district policy was proposed at the meeting.

The discussion took place during the public comment portion of the meeting. Board members asked for details to be handled privately and signaled interest in reviewing the matter if a pattern emerged or if the family requested a policy review.

For now, the district’s stated practice is that chaperones should remain to ensure students are picked up; security’s role is to monitor the grounds. The superintendent will follow up with the parent to discuss the incident and any clarifications of practice.

The board did not vote on or adopt any new rule during the session.

Community members who have concerns about a similar incident were told to provide contact information to the district clerk for private follow‑up.