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School committee dispute over remote access and an excluded member stalls executive‑session move
Summary
A motion to enter executive session drew contention after the vice chair proposed excluding remote member Judy Sullivan; the motion was withdrawn after legal guidance that the committee may allow hybrid attendance under current rules and members agreed to defer the executive‑session item to a future meeting when all members can attend.
During new business, a motion to enter executive session for strategy on collective bargaining and litigation escalated into a dispute over remote participation and whether a particular remote member should be excluded.
Vice Chairman Tony Rodriguez (identified in the transcript as vice chair) proposed an executive session and separately moved that remote school committee member Judy Sullivan not be allowed to attend. The chair said she would not honor the exclusion and cautioned the committee about past practice. The vice chair’s exclusion motion did not receive a second and was later withdrawn.
Attorney Spadafore advised the committee that, under the emergency COVID‑era open‑meeting rules still in effect, bodies such as the school committee may operate in hybrid mode and that the committee has discretion to set its own rules for remote participation absent a citywide prohibition. “The school committee is permitted under we're still operating under the emergency COVID rules with regard to remote open meetings,” Spadafore said, recommending notice and discussion before changing longstanding practice.
Several members said they preferred to hold executive session when every member could attend in person. The chair said the item would be placed on a future agenda and that the administration and vice chair would coordinate a special meeting; committee members asked for counsel to be present. No executive session occurred and the committee adjourned without taking the vote.
The exchange included pointed remarks about confidentiality and decorum. A committee member observed that executive sessions “require a high level of confidentiality and focus,” and raised concerns about cell‑phone use during sensitive discussion. The committee agreed to revisit the matter at a later meeting with fuller notice and counsel present.
