Parents push for accountability in Lakota schools

KANSAS — With back-to-school season around the corner, members of the local Lakota Civil Rights Coalition are questioning recent decisions by Lakota Local Schools administrators. A protest took place before the district's regular Board of Education meeting Monday. At the meeting, coalition members presented a letter outlining their concerns with Title IX, which the U.S. Department of Education says "prohibits discrimination based on sex" in federally funded education programs. The letter was accompanied by a petition with more than 1,300 signatures calling for the removal of Superintendent Chad Coffman, Athletic Director Kevin Yeckley and Elementary Principal Dana Ward. Lack of accountability Parents, students and community members argue a series of incidents over the past year and a half point to a pattern of poor leadership and mishandled discipline, raising concerns about student safety and administrative accountability. The coalition cites multiple cases to support its claim. In January 2024, a Lakota Middle School student was assaulted by three junior high students. The junior high students were sentenced to 10 to 30 days in juvenile detention, along with community service and mental health assessments, but parents questioned whether the district did enough to protect students afterward. This spring, Lakota Elementary Principal Dana D. Ward, 55, of Rudolph, was charged with assault in Sandusky County Court after a parent reported seeing her "dragging and yanking" a child by the arm in a school pickup line May 8. Ward, who is on paid leave, faces a jury trial Oct. 17 in Woodville. Athletic Director Kevin Yeckley has also faced scrutiny. While employed at St. Joseph Central Catholic Schools in Fremont, Yeckley was investigated by the Toledo Catholic Diocese for an "inappropriate relationship" with a student. The diocese referred the matter to the Ohio Department of Education, which led to an agreement that restricted Yeckley to working within the diocese until 2012 after officials determined he "engaged in conduct unbecoming a licensed educator by failing to maintain appropriate student-teacher boundaries." Records show he later violated that agreement. Superintendent Chad Coffman was twice placed on leave during his tenure as a principal in the Parma City School District. Public records obtained by The Advertiser-Tribune show he was investigated both times for allegedly failing to follow protocols when handling complaints. The controversies and complaints led community members to form the Lakota Civil Rights Coalition, which organized Monday's protest outside the school board meeting. Petitioning for change Kelly Stevens, whose grandson was involved in one of the incidents, said her advocacy began there and grew as more concerns surfaced. "For me, it started with the assault of my grandson," Stevens said. "As well as all of the crimes that have happened since. Obviously there were many before that, but since then there's just been more and more. They do not protect the kids in the school." Stevens presented a petition she organized that has collected nearly 1,300 signatures, calling for Superintendent Chad Coffman and Athletic Director Kevin Yeckley to be removed. "They flat-out told me, 'We don't care how many signatures you get. We're not removing them,'" Stevens said. "So it's like running into a brick wall." Parents' concerns Parent and coalition member Alton Moran said he joined the protest to stand up for his children and others in the district. He and other community members painted slogans critical of administrators on a pickup truck and parked it at the protest site. "It's about standing up for these kids; we are a very tight-knit community," Moran said. Moran, who babysits one of the children connected to the Ward case, said he was frustrated with how discipline was handled privately. "He's just a kid. Every kid has their issues, but what she did was totally uncalled for," Moran said. "No matter what, a school staff member should never put their hands on a child. Discipline in school should mean detention or suspension, not assault." He also pointed to the 2024 locker room assault as an example of leniency. "My understanding is the boys involved weren't suspended, they weren't put in ISS — they were allowed to come straight back into sports," Moran said. "That's the problem. They just walked right back on campus." Legal concerns Coalition spokesperson Tabitha Woodruff, a 2005 Lakota graduate and civil rights attorney in Cleveland, said the district's handling of Ward's case and other incidents shows a pattern of noncompliance. "The school board officials started the meeting tonight by saying they're not doing anything," Woodruff said. "They specifically said they are not going to terminate Dana Ward before she's had a chance to represent herself on the criminal charges, which is really outrageous. You don't need to have a criminal conviction to fire a school official after they assault a kid. It's on video." Woodruff criticized the district for continuing Ward's pay during leave. "She's on paid administrative leave. They've basically given her a vacation, continuing to pay her salary, instead of replacing her," Woodruff said. She also raised concerns that Lakota has not followed Title IX requirements. "Title IX is a federal civil rights law. Any school that receives federal funding is required to have written policies in place about preventing sexual assault and addressing it after it happens," Woodruff said. "Survivors here have alleged that no-contact orders are not respected, and their families have to fight and fight just to get them safety to the point that they've had to switch schools. The board says they're in compliance with all civil rights laws, but that's not the story survivors are telling." Board response When the board went into executive session Monday, protesters regrouped outside the high school campus where the meeting was held. Board president Chris Chalfin opened the meeting by reading a prepared statement, saying the district would not remove administrators. "The board recognizes and respects the right of all community members to voice their opinions and concerns about our schools and district operations," Chalfin said. "However, oftentimes these opinions and concerns are not based on facts. Rather, they are based on emotion." He said the board was aware of the situations referenced by the coalition, but found no civil rights violations. "The fact is that there were no civil rights law violations and I do not believe, based on the facts, that a student discipline matter over a year and a half ago was mishandled," Chalfin said. Chalfin expressed confidence in Superintendent Coffman's leadership and called it "imprudent and premature" to terminate Ward before her court hearing. He invited coalition leaders to schedule a private meeting with himself, Coffman and the district's legal counsel. For coalition members, the offer appeared to fall short of addressing what they view as systemic failures in accountability. "These children have a right to go to school and get their education in a healthy and safe environment," Stevens said. At the end of the meeting, board members declined further comment.