During the public-comment portion of the March 25 meeting, Leslie Stance Hobson, a Northampton resident and the school librarian, urged the board to register opposition to a White House executive order issued March 14 that she said targets nonstatutory components of federal agencies including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Hobson described how IMLS-funded programs support school databases and the Commonwealth eBook program (Sora) that the school uses.

Hobson said those databases provide vetted sources that reduce reliance on general internet searches and reduce the risk of misinformation; she described classroom assignments that relied on those licensed databases and noted that Sora provides ebook and audiobook access at about $1 per student. She told trustees the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is coordinating with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office and other state library agencies seeking legal responses to the executive order, and she urged the school trustees to register opposition "as a body or individually."

Hobson also asked the trustees to consider permitting remote public comment by Zoom, noting many families and staff live in multiple sending towns and cannot attend an in-person 5 p.m. meeting. She said allowing remote public comment would increase access for parents, sending-district residents, and staff who work later hours.

Outcome and context: The board did not take immediate formal action on the executive order request during the meeting. Trustees acknowledged the comment and the librarian's request about Zoom public comment; the transcript records the comment and a request to have the trustees consider the matter.

Background: Hobson cited the March 14 executive order and said state library agencies including Massachusetts, New York, Maine, Rhode Island, Colorado and Vermont were pursuing legal options. She emphasized the role of IMLS-supported resources in school research instruction and in supporting students who rely on simultaneous-access features for class sets through Sora.

Implementation notes: If trustees choose to act, options would include a board resolution or a letter to the governor or congressional delegation and a separate administrative decision to permit remote public comment and set procedural rules for it.