School safety and mental and behavioral health to be topics of May 23 school district town hall meeting

Event will be conducted digitally from 7 to 8 p.m.

Image courtesy Sarasota County Schools

On May 23, the Sarasota County School District will hold an interactive town hall meeting for parents, students and other members of the community on the topics of school safety and mental and behavioral health, the district has announced.

“This technology-enhanced public forum is a key part of our ongoing effort to reach families where they are and engage in conversation via … TV, computer, tablet or smart phone,” a news release says.

For the school safety discussion, the panelists will be Superintendent Todd Bowden; School Board Chair Bridget Ziegler; Kirk Hutchinson, principal of Atwater Elementary School in North Port;Jody Dumas, executive director of facilities, construction and planning for the district;Mike Andreas, director of safety, security and emergency management for the district; and Planning DirectorKathie Ebaugh, the release says.

The panelists for the mental and behavioral health discussion will be Bowden; Ziegler; Laura Kingsley, assistant superintendent and chief academic officer;Sonia Figaredo-Alberts, executive director of the district’s Pupil Support Services Department; andDebra Giacolone, supervisor of student services, the release adds.

The event will be conducted from 7 to 8 p.m. on May 23, the release notes.

To ask questions and join the conversation, visit the school district’s Facebook page or Twitter via@SarasotaSchools, the release explains. People also may watch online at SarasotaCountySchools.net or The Education Channel on Comcast 20 and Frontier 33.

To provide the panelists questions in advance of the live digital event, email the questions to SCSTownHall@sarasotacountyschools.net.