Midland School Committee adopts remote participation, votes to enter executive session on superintendent contract talks

Chair Steve Ledoux called the Midland School Committee’s July 16 special meeting to order and the committee first moved to adopt remote participation procedures for the session.

A member moved to adopt remote participation and the motion was seconded; the committee then held a roll-call vote and approved the measure. After the vote, the chair asked for a motion to enter executive session “Pursuant to master general law section 30 a, section 21 a 2, for the purpose of discussing strategy as it relates to contract negotiations with nonunion personnel, system superintendent of college and career education.” The motion was seconded and, because the statute requires a roll-call vote, members again responded by name.

During the roll-call preceding the executive session vote, multiple members confirmed they were alone while participating remotely, as required: Sarah Montague said, “I am all by myself in an office except for my, rescue pup,” Linda Herbison Bolton said she was “all alone in a church,” and Steve Ledoux noted he was “all by myself except for a Carolina Wren that keeps singing behind me.” The roll-call vote approved entering executive session. The chair then stated the committee was entering executive session; no further details of the contract discussion were included in the public transcript.

The executive session was convened under the cited exemption for strategy in contract negotiations with nonunion personnel. The transcript records only procedural actions and the statutory citation; it contains no recorded deliberations or decisions about contract terms in open session. The committee did not announce any subsequent public meeting date or further procedural steps in the recorded segments.