Committee keeps communications goal; subcommittee to study newsletter, public comment statement and social media

The Marblehead School Committee voted in discussion to carry forward communications as a committee goal and asked the communications subcommittee to develop specific tools and protocols, including a public-comment statement, a revisited newsletter template, a social-media plan, and a public survey on communication preferences. Committee members said they have a newsletter template and a process for notifying the superintendent about required website edits; Henry, the new committee secretary, was asked to improve meeting-minute timeliness. A committee member recommended reading the public-comment rules aloud at the start of comment periods; a MASC trainer advised: “Public comment is, 20 minutes. Every person gets 3 minutes. Please state your name and your relationship to the district,” and said the statement should be read at the beginning of public comment. On social media, members debated whether the committee should run accounts and how to avoid duplicative maintenance. The group agreed social media could be useful to reach people not on email lists but must be strictly informational to avoid open-meeting-law issues; MASC advised that the superintendent is the district spokesperson and the chair is the committee spokesperson and that any social-media policy be reviewed by legal counsel. The committee directed the communications subcommittee to survey the public about preferred platforms, propose a public relations plan and newsletter improvements, and return recommendations to the full committee. Members also requested that the timetable and budget communications be posted prominently on the district website and that the communications subcommittee coordinate with the town website or town manager’s newsletter where appropriate.