Committee discusses retreat, regular subcommittee times and town‑hall plan to boost community engagement
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Summary
Members discussed setting an early‑spring retreat date, reserving every other Wednesday for subcommittee meetings, and adding two town‑hall sessions (fall and spring) to improve public access while noting legal limits on in‑meeting responses.
The school committee discussed several governance and engagement items including scheduling a school committee retreat, setting recurring subcommittee meeting windows, and creating a town‑hall schedule to improve outreach to families.
Superintendent Dr. Dernault said, "It is our desire to have a retreat, and I would love for the input of the school committee members so that we can finalize a date," and asked members for availability. Several members urged setting a date in early spring and suggested coordinating with existing Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC) opportunities. Vice Chair Naylor and others emphasized the need to build camaraderie and provide new members a focused orientation.
On subcommittee timing, the superintendent proposed reserving every other Wednesday from 4–6 p.m. as a standing window for subcommittee meetings to make scheduling easier and to allow sufficient time to place items on full‑committee agendas. Members asked that joint subcommittee meetings clearly identify committee membership so the public knows who is meeting.
Regarding town halls, the committee discussed adding one fall and one spring town hall to provide a centralized time to address pressing issues; members noted statutory constraints that limit responses at the podium and suggested pre‑submitted questions and FAQs to improve transparency.
No binding calendar decision was made at the meeting; members asked staff to circulate potential dates and a calendar hold for recurring subcommittee meetings and to return with a proposed retreat date and plan.