Ep. 68, Last Night @ School Committee: 8/31 Meeting Recap

Last Night At School Committee

Last night’s meeting was the last School Committee meeting of the summer – the last meeting before students go back to school next week. However, for the second time in a row, there was no quorum. For much of the meeting, there was only one other member besides the Chair. The official meeting lasted just fifteen minutes, with a quorum of members voting on a few action items before continuing to other agenda items that did not require a quorum.

The majority of the meeting was spent discussing back-to-school updates for students, families and community members. As the district prepares for students to return to school, Acting Superintendent Drew Echelson and his team discussed transportation, staff vacancies, COVID-19 safety and more. With the continued shutdown of the Orange Line, Dr. Echelson emphasized that students would not be penalized for being late due to transportation issues and mentioned alternative transportation options for students, including free access to the Commuter Rail and additional bus routes. He also shared that the district is still facing 400 key vacancies in advance of reopening next week, more than half of which are educators as well as key roles like safety officers and bus monitors. With the majority of the Committee absent for these presentations, there were few questions and the meeting was adjourned.

School begins next Thursday, September 8 for students in grades 1-12, and Monday, September 12 for students in pre-k and kindergarten. The next School Committee meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 14.

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