Three East Troy mothers stood before the school board this week and said the district failed to protect their children from bullying and harassment so severe that each family ultimately pulled their kids out of the East Troy Community School District. Betty Lysaght, Katie Fruedenstein and Rachel Anderson addressed the board during its annual meeting Monday, describing incidents ranging from repeated classroom bullying to a sexual harassment report at a youth wrestling practice.
As reported by TMJ4, Lysaght told the board that written policies mean little if they are not enforced. She withdrew her son from the district in February after what she described as a sexual harassment incident during a youth wrestling practice, and said it was not the first such incident involving her child. Lysaght had previously withdrawn another child from the East Troy district in 2024 after harassment, according to the station's report.
Bullying Reports Escalate at East Troy Middle School
Fruedenstein told the board her daughter was bullied by classmates at East Troy Middle School and was assaulted by another student. The bullying reached a breaking point in March, per the same account, when Fruedenstein withdrew her daughter from the district. She said her daughter had expressed thoughts of dying and suicide before leaving the school, and that her daughter has been doing better since being removed. Fruedenstein said she still has one child remaining in the district and expects that child to be safe at school.
Anderson connected with Lysaght after seeing her social-media posts about the district, the outlet noted. Anderson said her daughter had hidden bullying and assault from her for a time because she feared being removed from the district, and Anderson withdrew her daughter from East Troy schools in 2024.
District Leaders Did Not Respond to Allegations
Board President Adam Witkiewicz and Superintendent Chris Hibner both received emails from the television station seeking comment on the parents' allegations. Neither had responded by the time the story aired, the article notes. The parents said they hope their statements to the board will lead to improved conditions for students still enrolled in East Troy schools.
What State Law Requires of School Districts
Wisconsin law includes Wisconsin Statute § 118.46.
Separately, the U.S. Supreme Court's 1999 ruling in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education established that districts receiving federal funds can face monetary damages under Title IX if officials show deliberate indifference to severe, pervasive student-on-student sexual harassment, provided administrators had actual knowledge and responded in a clearly unreasonable manner.
Wisconsin Statute § 118.51 concerns public-school open enrollment, according to Justia's summary of Wisconsin law.
Bullying Numbers Statewide, and the District's Budget Backdrop
The concerns raised by East Troy parents echo patterns found in statewide data. The 2023 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey, released by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, found that 21.6% of Wisconsin high school students reported being bullied on school property and 17.8% reported experiencing electronic bullying within the prior 12 months. The same survey found stark mental health disparities, with 66.8% of female high school students in Wisconsin reporting persistent anxiety and 45% reporting depression, alongside higher rates of reported bullying compared to male peers.
East Troy Community School District enrolled 1,519 students across four schools — Little Prairie Primary, Prairie View Elementary, East Troy Middle School and East Troy High School — during the 2021-2022 academic year, according to state enrollment data. The parents' allegations surface as the district continues to grapple with financial pressures highlighted during its $4 million referendum vote earlier this year, when Witkiewicz and district officials warned of potential staffing and program cuts tied to the operational funding request.
