Coleman Smith, running for Scituate School Committee, stresses data protection, anti-bias work and communication reforms

Coleman Smith, a candidate for Scituate School Committee Position 2, outlined a platform focused on reducing bias incidents and bullying, improving communication between the district and families and treating student data protection as a priority in the digital age.

Smith, who said he has lived in Scituate since 2005 and recently graduated from Boston College Law School, told the host he does not have a background as a teacher but believes his legal training would help the committee with districting, collective bargaining and disciplinary procedures. "I think data protection is a bigger issue now than it was ever before," he said.

Smith described three central priorities: lowering instances of bias and bullying in schools; fostering and maintaining constructive relations between labor and the school committee/superintendent; and ensuring safeguards around student data. He pointed to past federal requests for student records as a reason the district should update its practices now that newer technologies can collect and analyze data at scale.

On transparency and public notice, Smith said the committee appears to follow state notice requirements but acknowledged a gap between legal compliance and residents feeling informed. "There's a difference between providing legally adequate notice and making residents feel like a given process is truly participatory democracy," he said, adding he has discussed options with the committee chair.

Discussing recent redistricting meetings, Smith said parents who attended felt blindsided even though the committee said it had held public meetings for the past year. To reach families more effectively, he suggested school-led steps such as issuing information packets through students: "One easy one that a school could do unilaterally is providing like information packets to students and telling students to deliver these to your parents."

Smith said he would be open to splitting public comment so the public could address individual agenda items rather than offering comment only at the start of meetings, but cautioned the approach could lengthen meetings. "It would kind of guarantee that each topic gets its treatment," he said, "but I think it's worth a try."

On superintendent selection, Smith said the qualifications the district should seek depend on town priorities. For a town whose immediate focus is building a new school, he said financial and project-management experience may be important; in other circumstances, classroom experience might matter more. He praised interim superintendent Dr. Tom Rab for advancing the new school project, saying it appears to be moving "faster and more cheaply than expected," and noted the committee is likely to consider offering him a contract at their next meeting.

Smith addressed the naming debate for the new Hatherly-site school, listing three options discussed at recent meetings: Venus Manning, Inez Haynes Irwin and Satuit. He said names should reflect town values or geography and said he was "disturbed" by a comment at a meeting opposing a Black namesake because the town is "93% white." He said that demographic makeup should not dictate whether a person of color is honored.

On bullying, Smith said in-school face-to-face incidents are not widespread locally but that online platforms such as TikTok can amplify harassment, and incidents may rise around Pride Month. He described restorative justice techniques, including facilitated "talking circles," and said he favors rehabilitation-focused responses when appropriate.

Asked why voters should choose him, Smith said he represents a progressive option focused on protecting students' and teachers' rights, non-discrimination, a supportive work environment and data protection. The host reminded listeners that Scituate's annual town election is June 6 in the high school gym.

The interview was conducted as the campaign heads toward the June 6 election; the school committee and town have upcoming votes and meetings where staffing and naming decisions are expected to be discussed.