Motion to require committee be CC'd on routine emails with district legal counsel fails after privacy and workload concerns

A committee member moved a motion to require that “any and all communications between the superintendent, district staff, employees, and legal counsel must copy, cc all members of the school committee” subject to privacy exceptions for personnel and student matters. The motion language was later clarified to apply specifically to emails.

Proponents said the measure was intended to ensure transparency and reduce filtering of information. One member said, “It’s very simple to type on, you know, create a group, cc us all. And if you wanna be aware of what's going on, you could, you know, read it.”

Opponents raised two primary concerns: volume and privacy. Legal counsel reportedly advised that the approach was possible but could inundate the committee with emails. Members noted that much of counsel’s work involves student and personnel matters and that privacy laws require excluding those communications. One member warned that inadvertent “reply all” messages could create a running meeting or unintentional disclosures.

Superintendent Sandy described the current practice: staff already provide periodic reports and briefings from legal for major matters, and the superintendent and counsel exchange preparatory material before producing committee briefings. Committee members said they have been receiving more information from the new legal team than in previous years and that some members were comfortable with the existing level of transparency.

When the committee put the motion to a vote, members vocalized aye and nay; the motion failed (nays recorded). The chair announced the result as “Nay. Nay. Motion fails.”