LIL' LORI KEEPS PUTTING PRESSURE TO KEEP COUNCILS IMPROVING

Dr. Latham,

Thank you for the information I requested regarding school council meeting minutes.  The good news is it appears that 24 out of the 25 schools all held at least one school council meeting this school year.  Sisson did not produce any minutes, nor was there any public notices about any meetings that have taken place this school year.  Therefore, it does not appear as though Sisson has a school council established.  I hope you will contact Mrs. Franklin and instruct her to establish a school council as is required by state law. 

Unfortunately, almost all of the schools are violating the open meeting laws by not posting notices of every meeting with the city clerk at least 48 hours in advance and/or not keeping accurate minutes.  As I am sure you are aware, school councils are required to keep minutes not only indicating the date and place, but also the time, members present and absent, and actions taken.  I believe only 2 or 3 schools had all of this information included in their minutes.  Harrington was the only school that separately listed their council members and their role (teacher, parent, community member), which was great.  

There are some schools that have posted a notice of a meeting, but did not keep minutes for that meeting.  There are also some schools that had one date on the notice, but another date on the actual minutes.

Many schools did not hold their first meeting before the 40th day of school as is required by state law.  Also, many schools have not held at least one meeting quarterly as is required in the LPS policy.  In fact, I was informed that you did not provide the school committee members with copies of all school council meeting agendas and minutes as is also required in the LPS policy.

The information discussed in these school council meetings is very important.  Therefore, it is important that every school is keeping accurate minutes that contain accurate information.  I also think the minutes from every school council meeting should be posted on each school's website so parents and the community have access to them and the important information contained in them.  Parents and others should not have to submit a public records request and wait up to 10 days to receive this information.  These are public meetings pertaining to each individual school just like school committee meetings are public meetings pertaining to every school in the district.  School committee meeting minutes are posted on the district's website, so why aren't school council meeting minutes posted on each school's website?   I know Classical posts their minutes on their website, but I don't believe any other schools do.  

I hope you will review the state law and open meeting law requirements, as well as the LPS policy, once again with all your principals so that all laws and requirements are followed in future meetings. 

Thank you

Lori D'Amico