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Select Board adopts internship policy to standardize student placements across municipal departments
Summary
The Select Board adopted a new internship program policy establishing onboarding, supervision, project expectations and basic administrative rules for interns placed with Town departments. Staff said it aims to build a local pipeline of municipal talent; the policy sets no direct cost to the town in most cases.
The Select Board adopted a municipal internship program policy designed to standardize how departments host interns, clarify onboarding steps, define supervision responsibilities, and set expectations for project scope, dress code and duration.
Personnel staff (Patricia) said the policy follows guidance from a conference course and is intended to create structured opportunities for high-school and college students to gain municipal experience. The policy allows departments to host interns under a variety of arrangements: some interns may receive college-managed credit (and be paid through their institution), while others could be unpaid for-credit placements; the policy does not itself create a town-paid internship line.
Board members asked about CORI/background checks and union work restrictions. Staff confirmed that interns would be processed through the town's existing onboarding procedures (including CORI where applicable) and that assignments would avoid work that would displace union-covered employees. The board voted to adopt the policy as presented.
Staff said they already have a placement request from a Fitchburg State student for the Board of Health and plan to pilot the policy with that placement this summer.
