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Date: 9/13/2022
NORTHAMPTON – During a meeting on Sept. 7, the Northampton School Committee voted unanimously to conduct their meetings remotely through October until the JFK Community Room is ready for in-person use.
Once that occurs, the School Committee will transition to a hybrid format, where the public has the opportunity to participate in public comment either remotely or in-person. An in-person member quorum will not be necessary under this revised format.
The School Committee’s decision comes almost two months after the state extended the period during which boards and committees have the ability to decide whether to host in-person, remote or hybrid meetings through March 31, 2023. The Northampton School Committee has met remotely since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
According to Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra, the Community Room in JFK, which housed School Committee meetings prior to COVID-19, is currently being modified to be utilized in a hybrid fashion. “It will hopefully be ready some time in mid-October,” Sciarra said.
The committee also briefly considered using the City Council chambers or hearing room in City Hall until the JFK Community Room is ready, but due to competing schedules with other municipal bodies, the School Committee decided not to go that route. The Community Room is not expected to be ready for use by the committee’s October meeting.
“The goal for all of these spaces is that people can participate in all ways,” said Sciarra. “I know it’s been working well for Planning Board and for some of the other meetings that have been hybrid.”
City Council
The City Council has also been meeting remote since the beginning of COVID-19. Council President Jim Nash told Reminder Publishing back in July that a hybrid format for City Council is likely in the future. Some committees have already transitioned to hybrid meetings.
“First and foremost, the level of participation by the public, the ability of people to be involved, has been expanded,” said Nash, referring to the perks of remote meeting. “That’s very evident to us that that was an aspect we very much wanted to maintain.”