SWAMPSCOTT — The School Committee reviewed and signed into effect operating protocols ahead of the upcoming school year.
The protocol document is broken down into the categories of “How We Govern, How We Treat Each Other, How We Communicate, How We Will Improve, Limits of Our Authority, and When Things Go Wrong.” Chair Glenn Paster explained the purpose of the protocols and summarized what the document entails.
“This is really what governs how we operate as a committee,” Paster said. “It’s really the rules that we live by.”
He emphasized the communication and respect aspects of the protocols, noting that the need for respect also extends to all members of the public who attend the committee’s meetings. He added that in reality, he feels the School Committee rightfully does not have a large amount of authority.
“Our job is to guide the ship and make sure we fight for the budget money that the leaders of our district need to make sure that every student is educated,” Paster said.
Committee member Suzanne Wright expressed her belief that the protocols were not followed effectively enough last year, citing six protocols that were ignored at some point in time. She alluded to when Vice Chair Amy O’Connor, who was not present during Thursday’s meeting, proposed an amendment during May’s Town Meeting that would add $482,000 to the district’s budget for fiscal year 2025, which had already been approved by the School Committee. The motion originally passed, but was reversed during Town Meeting’s second night. The protocols include a “no surprises” component in the committee’s communication portion.
“I didn’t know what the motion was ahead of Town Meeting, so that was a surprise,” Wright said.
Wright, who was Chair at the time of Town Meeting, took some responsibility for not specifying to O’Connor and the rest of her peers that they needed to make motions as private citizens as opposed to members of the School Committee.
“This is such an emotional job because we all want to fight for money for the teachers and we all want to fight for money for the schools, and we’re all working toward the same exact agenda… I think it’s really easy to let emotions take us away a little bit.”
Member John Giantis defended the efforts of O’Connor, arguing that the circumstances were unique enough to warrant her actions. He added that perhaps some of the disagreement could have been avoided if Wright’s communication was better during her tenure as Chair.
“I’m just going to agree to disagree with you on that,” Wright said in response to Giantis. “We’re allowed to (disagree), it’s our protocol.”
