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The League of Women Voters of Sudbury submitted the following request to the Sudbury School Committee:
In June, the League of Women Voters of Sudbury urged you to reconsider your decision to hold alternate meetings of the Sudbury School Committee using an in-person only format, with no option for the public to attend and provide public comment remotely and with no live television or streaming coverage. You replied that the Committee decided to alternate between in-person and online meetings when the SPS offices at Fairbank opened and that work continued to update the SPS meeting space.
To date, the Sudbury School Committee has continued to hold half of its meetings only on an in-person basis, with no opportunity for public remote attendance and participation and no live television or streaming coverage.
The League finds this situation unacceptable. Remote access and participation are especially important for school committees. The people most interested in your discussions are the parents of children in Sudbury’s preK-8 schools. These parents of young children are limited by childcare responsibilities from attending in-person meetings on a weeknight. We note that the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee and the Select Board offer remote options for all of their meetings, and more than 20 other town boards and committees regularly meet on a remote-only basis, allowing for public access and participation.
Until the SPS meeting space is equipped to offer remote access to meetings, the League urges you to consider other options for your in-person Committee meetings. There is a room in the Fairbank Community Center which the Council on Aging uses that is completely equipped for hybrid meetings. There are two mobile Zoom carts in Fairbank that the Town of Sudbury purchased with ARPA funds specifically to facilitate hybrid meetings. There are numerous other meeting locations in this town, including Town Hall and the Flynn Building, that are equipped for hybrid meetings. You could choose any of those options while you wait for the SPS meeting space to be wired.
We cannot understand why the Sudbury School Committee refuses to meet in a format that makes it possible for Sudbury residents and especially parents of the children in its system to easily offer their opinions and to fully observe and participate in its meetings. It is time for this Committee to ensure remote access and participation at all meetings, and we look forward to this change prior to the start of budget season.
