Parent at Glendora board meeting says mistreatment during COVID and recent board votes drove enrollment declines

During the board’s public comment period, a local parent addressed trustees about declining enrollment and alleged mistreatment of parents during the COVID period. The speaker said she removed her child from the district and cited a pattern of parental concerns that she said were ignored by the previous board. She specifically named three trustees, saying “Rutter, Garcia and Merkley chose to side against parents,” and said those decisions confirmed her choice not to return her child to district schools.

The commenter said she had seen district emails indicating waiting lists at some campuses and urged the board to examine how students were lost to other schools. Trustees did not offer a formal response in the public-comment time allotted; Superintendent Dr deia and other board members later heard and acknowledged the comment during the meeting’s flow of business.

The remark is part of a wider local conversation the board referenced elsewhere in the agenda, including trustee comments about outreach, trade fairs and recruitment efforts. The speaker said she looks forward to the next school-board election and to electing different representation.