INDIANAPOLIS - One month into the school year, the newly reopened Broad Ripple Middle School is facing complications.
Several people addressed their concerns to Indianapolis Public Schools at the August board meeting.
Parents and students both spoke out about how things are being run at BRMS.
Many of the speakers cited safety concerns after hearing reports of fights breaking out.
Some other problems brought up were surrounding foul language, phone intercom systems not working, and locker assignments.
One parent who spoke at the meeting, Stephanie Dillon, said hiring more aides will hopefully resolve some of the behavioral issues.
“I think they need a couple more resource officers in the hallways during transitions, just to really kind of monitor and help since there are still a little short staffed on teachers,” said Dillon.
Another parent, Huss Banai said the school was supposed to have around 400 students, but it is now closer to 800 students.
“It's been going as high as 35-40 in some classes, sometimes multiple classes are mixed because the classroom is not ready,” said Banai. “They're taken to the auditorium, they're sitting with kids in other classes."
We reached out to IPS to confirm the number of students in the building and were told a solid number will be given in October.
Banai and Dillon said they were expecting some hiccups during the transition to the school, however not this many.
Both said they know of parents that have withdrawn their children from the school due to the growing number of concerns.
“It's very clear to us that the problem at Broad Ripple is not a problem of administration, but it is a problem of the school board not giving them enough human resources to be able to manage this major transition,” said Banai.
Banai and Dillon both added that the teachers and principal at the school have been great thus far into the school year.
With a handful of speakers at the last meeting, Superintendent Dr. Aleesia Johnson did acknowledge the district hopes to resolve the issues they're seeing.
"I just want to again appreciate families who came tonight to share their feedback and concerns,” said Johnson at the meeting.
“We are listening, we will keep working to create a strong learning environment for our students at Broad Ripple Middle School.”
Both Banai and Dillon said they both want to see the school succeed and benefit the surrounding community.
For now, they both plan to keep their kids enrolled.
We reached out to IPS to hear more on how they hope to address these issues, but we have yet to receive a response.