Fall River School Committee faces multiple open meeting law complaints by Colin Dias

The Fall River School Committee convened for a special meeting on June 3, 2025, to address several pressing issues, including the review of executive session minutes and complaints regarding open meeting law violations.

The meeting began with a review of executive session minutes from the regular school committee meeting held on May 12, 2025. Following this, the committee addressed an open meeting law complaint filed by Colin Dias on May 9, 2025. The complaint highlighted that minutes from the March 3, March 10, and March 18, 2025 meetings had not been approved, which Dias argued constituted a violation of the open meeting law. The committee noted that subsequent meetings had occurred on March 19, April 17, and April 29, but the minutes from the earlier meetings remained unapproved.

Additionally, the committee discussed another complaint from Dias regarding a request made to the former superintendent of the school search committee chairperson, Mimi Larrivee. This complaint, also dated May 23, 2025, alleged that the chairperson failed to announce whether the open session would reconvene after the executive session and did not provide the committee with unredacted minutes from the search committee meetings held in February 2024.

The agenda further included discussions on strategy concerning civil service clerical employees and complaints against school committee members. The committee determined that discussing these matters in open session could adversely affect their legal position.

The meeting concluded with a focus on preparing for negotiations with nonunion personnel, which includes various educational and government positions within Fall River.

Overall, the special meeting underscored ongoing concerns regarding compliance with open meeting laws and the importance of transparency in school committee operations. The committee's next steps will likely involve addressing the outstanding complaints and ensuring that all meeting minutes are approved in a timely manner.