Close to 70 residents packed the Town Hall meeting room Monday to express their views on the issues surrounding the citizens’ petition for a motion to censure the School Committee at next week’s Town Meeting. The friction in the room was almost palpable, as residents asked questions that the School Committee seemed unable to answer.
The School Committee’s mantra, “We can’t get involved in that” was frustrating to listen to, especially when the group told resident Mark Bierbower they weren’t sure where he and his wife could turn for recourse regarding her issues with the superintendent. We wish that, at the very least, the committee had taken some ownership of this issue, in the classic customer service sense: “We don’t know the answer to that, but we will find out and get back to you.”
We believe there is action the School Committee can take—and should take. With findings about the irregularities in special education payments clearly identified in the independent auditor’s management report, we believe the School Committee has every right—in fact, an obligation—to do its own investigation into the circumstances surrounding these payments.
School Committee member Stuart Sklar quoted from Massachusetts General Laws at the meeting, noting that one of the actions that is within the committee’s purview is hiring and terminating the employment of the superintendent. We wonder how they could ever possibly determine whether or not the superintendent should be terminated or retained, without investigating claims of his involvement with anything improper.
One question that jumped out at us at Monday’s meeting was phrased nicely by Sklar, who told the meeting, “Tell me what you want me to do!” We think that people who are ready to censure the School Committee should be prepared to answer that question, with advice that will move the whole discussion forward in a productive way. After the vote on this article at the special Town Meeting—whether it passes or fails, whether the School Committee is censured or not—what do people want them to do?