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Public comments urge changes to PE make-up policy, security cameras; town official clarifies hiring authority and absentee-ballot details ahead of referendum
Summary
During public comment, a parent urged the board to revise a physical-education make-up policy she described as unfair; a student called for security cameras in classrooms and hallways; and First Selectwoman Anne Marie Gomez clarified that hiring for coaches is the Board of Education's responsibility and reminded residents about absentee-ballot hours.
During public comment, residents raised three distinct issues for the board's attention: concerns about the physical-education make-up policy, a request for classroom and hallway cameras, and clarification about hiring authority and absentee ballots ahead of the budget referendum.
Parent Jody Burston Hubbard of 8 Emma Street asked the board to revisit the district's physical-education make-up policy. Hubbard said her concern is that the policy, as written, requires students who miss PE to both make up missed activity time and complete a separate written assignment, which she and others she spoke with see as unbalanced. She also said students who are absent for legitimate reasons may be required to make up work while suspended students receive an exempt status. "These kinds of unfair balances are the things that I'm really hoping get addressed in the revision of the policy," Hubbard said during public comment; she told the board she appreciated that administrators were reviewing the policy.
A middle-school student who identified themselves as attending Seymour Middle School urged the district to install security cameras in classrooms and hallways to record incidents of misbehavior and provide documentation to school staff.
First Selectwoman Anne Marie Gomez (present in the audience) responded to a separate anonymous letter about high‑school coaching hires by clarifying that hiring decisions for coaches are handled by the Board of Education, the superintendent and the athletic director, not by Town Hall. Gomez also reminded residents that absentee ballots for the upcoming referendum are available through the town clerk's office, giving the clerk's hours as Monday–Thursday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m. to noon.
Why it matters: comments raise both policy questions (how make-up work is assigned and fairness across disciplinary statuses) and operational questions (security cameras and who makes hiring decisions). The board did not take immediate action on these items during the meeting; Hubbard's remarks were received during public comment and will inform the board's ongoing review of the PE policy and any future policy revisions.
Board members and administrators said they value public input. The board's discussion later in the meeting reiterated the need for community participation in upcoming votes, particularly the budget referendum scheduled for April 17, and provided administrative hours for absentee ballots.
