Green Bay students go to school on the first day clear backpacks are now required for students in grades 6 through 12, September 22, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Student leaders in the Green Bay Area Public School District are weighing in on the ongoing conversation about improving school safety.
Their input could be growing, and they want teachers to step up, as well.
Green Bay’s Intra City High School Student Council is supposed to be the go-between for students and district administrators. At it’s monthly meeting Wednesday morning, student members provided positive feedback on the first few weeks of a new clear backpack policy.
“I haven’t heard of any problems,” said Etta Meister, a sophomore at East High. “Everybody is working well with them.”
“People have just decided, ‘Yes, we’ll just do this and we’ll go along with it,’” added Chanel Leopold, a senior at Preble High.
The backpack policy, along with more detailed protocols for students who commit unsafe acts transitioning back to school, are in response to a loaded gun being found in a student’s backpack at Preble High School.
Student leaders say extending the clear backpack policy to teachers would be nice to see.
“If we are such a family, then I feel this is just another thing they can do to show us they are in this with us,” said Lily Rotter, a junior at East High. “That we’re all in this together.”
Brent Bergstrom, president of the Green Bay Education Association, shared the following statement about teachers using clear backpacks:
Our educators are licensed, educated professionals who spend countless hours preparing to best support all students including training around their safety and security. Whether or not our staff carry clear bags is up to the individual educator to accommodate the materials they need to work in a safe and secure environment. The Green Bay Education Association understands the need to make immediate changes as recommended by the district’s research and looks forward to conversations and further recommendations at the next school board meeting. It’s more important than ever that our community work together to keep our public schools safe, secure, and thriving and trust that the professionals in the building are doing everything they can to help students be successful.
Chris Collar, the district’s safety director, is also suggesting student safety ambassadors form either a district committee or one for each school. The thought is they’d provide feedback on potential changes and help make sure students are aware of new and existing rules, as well as opportunities to report unsafe behavior, like Crimestoppers.
“It is critical for students to be a part of the conversation for safety, because at the end of the day, we, the staff members, are the ones that are in the buildings,” said Leopold.
Student feedback on what else can be done started being collected at a community roundtable at Preble last month. The recommendations from the more than 500 people who attended will start being discussed by the school board at its meeting Monday.
“This is important because whatever the board is going to decide, it’s going to impact students for a very long time,” said Vicki Bayer, the district’s superintendent.
While the school board’s discussion starts Monday, there will be two weeks for feedback before the board votes on any next moves.
Bayer has said all options are on the table for future safety changes. That includes adding weapon detection systems, dress code changes and closing campus for lunch.
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