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Board agrees to resume public comment at CAL meetings, to be held before executive session
Summary
After trustees discussed whether to allow public comment during CAL (work‑session) meetings, the board agreed by consensus to resume limited public comment at CAL meetings and to place it before executive session for the remainder of the year.
Trustees debated whether to allow public comment during CAL (work‑session) meetings and reached a consensus to restore a single public‑comment period at the end of CAL sessions, placed immediately before executive session.
Board member Julianne said she had asked for the agenda item and described the historical practice of hearing public comment at town/CAL meetings. She said stakeholders sometimes prefer to speak after hearing discussion and that giving one more opportunity for comment preserves transparency. Several trustees said they were indifferent or could see pros and cons; some noted that stakeholders can send email but that live comment allows the board to hear the same concern at the same time.
Trustees agreed on limiting public comment to agenda topics and on keeping the format similar to regular meetings (time limits and no open dialogue). Julianne and others recommended trying the change for the remainder of the school year; another board member suggested placing the comment period before the next agenda item to allow stakeholders to be heard prior to deeper executive conversations. The chair confirmed the board will place CAL public comment before executive session at future CAL meetings.
