250 people sign up to make public comment
On March 28, the School Committee convened for a special meeting, as mandated by the City Charter, to conduct a public hearing regarding the petition for an Academic Principles Advisory Committee (APAC), as described in this article by Fig City News. The hybrid meeting began at 6PM, in-person in Newton North High School and via Zoom for remote participants. Over three and a half hours of public comment ensued regarding not only the petition document, but also the perception of academic excellence currently in Newton Public Schools, as well as the merits of NPS’s Statement of Values and Commitment to Racial Equity and associated NPS efforts regarding Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DEI).
During the public comment period, the petitioners expressed support for DEI, noting that the petition does not reference DEI while calling for the establishment of the APAC. However, many public commenters connected the petition to the ImproveNPS parent group, which had previously authored a letter to the School Committee asking for a review of the NPS Statement of Values to incorporate alternate views of DEI. Commenters at the meeting included parents, educators, City Councilors, and current students. The majority spoke against the petition.
Following the public comment, the School Committee members each gave their reasons for voting No on the petitioners’ request. Chris Brezski (Ward 2), Anping Shen (Ward 3), and Paul Levy (Ward 6) expressed some sympathy for the petitioners’ concerns about academic excellence, although they made clear that they disagreed with the structure of the proposed APAC. The remaining School Committee members and Mayor Fuller did not appear to share any of the concerns that the petitioners raised. School Committee Chair Tamika Olszewski (Ward 4) received applause from the in-person audience following her statement citing her personal experience as a mother of minority children who attend NPS. The vote was 9-0 “Yes” to accept Paul Levy’s motion that the School Committee deny the petition.
Fig City News will report further on the public comments and School Committee members’ statements in the coming days.
