School Committee members play a critical role in the success of our schools. Elected school committee members provide a voice for the children of the district and serve as critical lines of communication between the community and the public school leadership.
The Massachusetts Association of School Committees believes each community has the right to make its own decisions about the oversight of their schools, but we have serious concerns about House Bill 5098, An Act defining a governing structure for the Lawrence School Board upon the exit of state receivership.
This bill would eliminate all six of the Lawrence School Committee’s democratically-elected district seats, replacing them with a mix of appointed and at-large seats. The experiences of elected school boards over appointed ones is that elected boards have stronger connections to the community and constituents. A board where a majority of members would be appointed or ex-officio could not only weaken community input but allow those governing the schools to have less accountability to those they’re supposed to serve.
The MASC works with school committees across the state to help establish strong and successful school governance models that take into account the vision and unique needs of their district and the students they serve. In collaboration with the state, we provide training and governance to school committee members in districts under receivership. School committee members in Lawrence participated in each session to gain the information they need to do their jobs.
The changes this bill would make to the Lawrence School Committee have never been a requirement to exit state receivership. In fact, my democratically-elected colleagues and I on the Holyoke School Committee worked with state officials to establish a plan to transition our city’s schools out of receivership, one that we will begin implementing next year and which will continue to have all elected members, including the elected mayor as a member of the board.
We respect the fact that some others will have differences of opinion, but, in this case, the implications will be long lasting.
Allowing this to happen in Lawrence could have statewide ramifications, opening the door for other cities to limit local voices and information constituents and seek out. We thank Senator Ryan Fattman for speaking to the importance local governance of our schools and the democratic rights of residents across the state.
2024 MASC President Mildred Lefebvre