WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Thursday discussed a change to its policy on public comment at School Committee meetings in light of a recent Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling.

 

Jose Constantine, who chairs the School Committee's Policy and Governance Subcommittee, explained to his colleagues that the state's highest court has decided that school committees cannot enforce rules that strive to maintain civility at its sessions.

 

"We can't limit or control what's said," Constantine said.

 

The existing district policy includes the following language: "Improper conduct and remarks will not be allowed. Defamatory or abusive remarks are always out of order. If a speaker persists in improper conduct or remarks, the Chair may terminate that individual's privilege of address."

 

The proposed new policy draws a very different line at which a speaker would be out of order during public comment.

 

"The chair of the meeting, after a warning, reserves the right to terminate speech which is not Constitutionally protected because it constitutes true threats that are likely to provoke a violent reaction and cause a breach of the peace or incitement to imminent lawless conduct," the new draft policy reads.

 

Interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron told the committee that the proposed new language results from recommendations from the Massachusetts Association of School Committee and legal precedent.

 

The precedent in question was a case arising out of Southborough that was decided by the Supreme Judicial Court in March 2023. The court found that a Select Board policy in the town specifying that remarks be "respectful and courteous, free of rude, personal or slanderous remarks," constituted an unconstitutional restraint on free speech.

 

If a public body in the state chooses to allow public comments, it cannot then dictate the tone of those comments, the court essentially ruled.

 

In light of that reality, the Mount Greylock committee Thursday talked about how it could continue to allow public comments in its meetings, given that members of the public might, occasionally, bring up matters that involve individual students, whose privacy the district needs to protect.

 

One option Bergeron suggested was that the committee could receive public comment in written form in advance of its meetings.

 

"That could be a way for the committee to receive this information ahead of time so it becomes a little more actionable," Bergeron said. "If the policy was worded in a way that allows for it, it could allow us to reach out to the person for clarification or detail. It would also be a way to know, if something is about to be said that if we were to release information to the public, we'd be required to redact things like, for example, a student's name.

 

"Another option for public input would be some kind of formal process where, upon receipt of a request to discuss a matter, the chair will assign a member of the committee to meet with that member of the public and report back."

 

School Committee member Julia Bowen suggested that the panel could create specified listening sessions to take feedback from the public outside of its regular meeting schedule. She said that those sessions would not necessarily need to include a quorum of School Committee members.

 

"I'm not actually sure the current way we do things helps us understand all the input we want to be taking into account," Bowen said. "People who have the ability to show up are a small portion of the population."

 

Bowen said she routinely gets feedback from members of the public outside of committee meetings – both on topics within the purview of the School Committee and topics outside its control.

 

Constantine pointed out that the committee does not need to keep "public comment" as a standing item on the agendas for its monthly meeting, though he immediately added that he thinks that step "seems too extreme."

 

"My experience with public comment has been resoundingly positive," Constantine said. "I know we've had issues in the recent past, but, from my perspective, the loss of not allowing public comment in the we have far outweighs the risk [of "defamatory or abusive remarks"]."

 

There is only one circumstance in which a school committee routinely needs to accept comment from the public in open session. Massachusetts General Law specifies that school committees hold a mandatory public hearing on its proposed annual budget.

 

Thursday's monthly meeting saw the Mount Greylock committee hold its first reading of the proposed policy. It took no action on the draft or any steps to address the new reality. Policy and Governance Subcommittee member Curtis Elfenbein encouraged anyone with concerns to reach out to that committee before or at its next open meeting on Oct. 21 at 5 p.m.

 

A more joyous note at Thursday's meeting was the annual awarding of the 2024 Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Certificate of Excellence Award.

 

Bergeron gave the honor to senior Will Igoe, who fortunately did not have a conflict with a game for the boys soccer team, for whom he is a captain and starting midfielder/back.

 

"This award, like life, is not solely about numbers and academic achievement," Bergeron said. "Though, looking at the areas where he has excelled academically, it made me blush a little bit. This award is really reflective of the many things you do in addition to that academic record."

 

Bergeron noted Igoe's experience as a Student Council member and Peer Counselor at the school, his contributions to the school's music lab, his accomplishments on the athletic field and his participation in an academic trip to Argentina last year.

 

"It's about being authentically kind, hard-working, somebody who leads by example and does so across so many facets of your life," Bergeron said.

 

Igoe checked into the meeting via Zoom with his parents. Bergeron said he would present the physical award to the senior at a later date.

 

In other business on Thursday, the School Committee:

 

• Heard an update on progress on the track and field project, which Bergeron indicated could be ready to host a boys and girls lacrosse game by the end of the 2025 season and will be ready for track and field meets this spring.

 

• Closed out the fiscal year 2024 budget. Bergeron, who also serves as the district's business administrator, noted that the district's excess and deficiency account finished the year that ended on June 30 with a healthier balance than anticipated – good news for a School Committee that approved an FY25 budget that leans more heavily on reserve funds than prior years.

 

• Learned from Student Council representative Sabine Guerra that the district's new policy on personal electronic devices has been largely accepted by students at the middle/high school. "About the phones, at least, they're not reacting as badly as I thought they would," Guerra said of their fellow students. "There has been some pushback on Airpods and headphones – wanting to listen to music more. For the most part, I think it's going smoothly. I haven't seen a lot of students getting in trouble for [violating the policy] in my classes."

 

• Received a report from Bergeron on the district's performance on the spring 2024 round of Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests.

 

• And advised Bowen on how to vote on a series of resolutions scheduled to be considered at this fall's convention of the Massachusetts Association of School Committeees.