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Votes at a glance: Methuen School Committee actions and key outcomes on Jan. 13, 2025
Summary
The committee took several formal actions on Jan. 13 including organizational appointments, approvals for trips and committee memberships, and two policy votes (whistleblower and public‑participation). The meeting also recorded the competency‑determination vote (5‑2).
The Methuen School Committee recorded the following motions and votes during its Jan. 13, 2025 business session. This roundup highlights formal outcomes the committee approved or recorded.
Votes at a glance - Agenda acceptance: The committee accepted the Jan. 13 agenda (voice vote; “ayes have it”). - Organizational appointments: • Vice chair: Member Keegan elected vice chair by roll call (unanimous yeses recorded). Motion from Member Shabelia; second recorded. • Secretary: Member Shabelia elected secretary by roll call (unanimous). Motion and second recorded. • Formal appointment of Superintendent Brandy Kwong as committee secretary (formal motion and unanimous roll call approval). - Minutes: The minutes from the Dec. 9, 2024 school committee meeting and the Dec. 18, 2024 Facilities Building Subcommittee minutes were approved (voice votes — ayes have it). - Cooperstown Methuen High School baseball trip (April 25, 2025): The committee approved the Cooperstown trip (motion and second; voice vote: “ayes have it”). The district said the trip will be paid by the Milliard family and will not cost the school; itinerary includes travel April 25 and a 10 a.m. game vs. Tewksbury High at Doubleday Field on Saturday. - CTE Program Advisory Committees: The committee approved PAC membership lists for Chapter 74 programs (motion by Member Willett; second by Member Shabelia; vote recorded as ayes have it). - Whistleblower policy: The committee adopted a whistleblower protection policy (final read; motion carried; roll not recorded in detail but vote recorded as unanimous “ayes have it”). Committee members discussed education and confidentiality to ensure staff feel protected. - Public‑participation policy (amendment): The committee approved a revision to the public‑participation policy to allow “public participants” rather than limiting comments to “citizens of Methuen.” The amendment passed in voice vote with Member Maxwell recorded as a no vote on the amendment and on the final version (final tally: unanimous except for Member Maxwell’s no vote). - Competency determination for class of 2025: The committee voted in a roll call (five yes, two no) to adopt a transcript‑review approach as the local competency determination for students lacking MCAS‑based status (see separate article for full context). The vote was recorded and reported at the end of the meeting.
Notes on vote records and procedure Where the roll call was recorded, the transcript includes the member-by-member responses (for example the competency‑determination vote). Several other items were approved by voice vote with the chair calling “ayes have it.” Where the transcript did not list a full roll call for a given motion, the outcome wording (“ayes have it”) was used to record the committee’s decision.
Links and follow-up Committee minutes and the meeting video were recorded and will be posted on the Methuen Public Schools website. Several approved items (CTE PACs, competency determination, Cooperstown trip) require follow‑up tasks from staff (scheduling PAC‑committee meetings, publishing transcript‑review forms, communicating trip logistics).
