BOONE, Iowa—Some Boone School District patrons raised concerns this week about the district allowing a registered sex offender to attend school activities in which his child participated. Joel Waltz had received permission to attend those activities, but under set guidelines. Many went to social media to bring attention to the matter.
Today, the Boone School District released a letter to parents from School Board President Jan Westrum and Vice-President Brian Mehlhaus
BCSD Families and Patrons:
Recently, there has been much attention paid to the Boone Schools through various media, We would like to express our support to Dr. Brad Manard and Principal Kris Byam for their adherence to the advice and guidance of the district’s legal team and School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) regarding the attendance of parents who are registered sex offenders at school functions their child is participating in. We appreciate the time and effort put into making sure our district has in place the many safeguards and strict procedures to ensure the safety of all our students while these activities are taking place. We recognize that this is a difficult situation, and we want to help our students and community understand that we are following the same laws that every school district in the state of Iowa are mandated to observe. While the principal does have some discretion in this matter, he is required to follow strict guidelines, and the safeguards put in place by the Boone administration will hopefully alleviate many of the concerns expressed by parents.
Jan Westrum, Boone School Board President
Brian Mehlhaus, Boone School Board Vice-President
Under the current guidelines, Waltz may request permission to school activities in which his children participate. Waltz was a former youth pastor, sentenced to prison following an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year old girl.
