The Board of Ed meets Tuesday, and that's the first of three state education meetings this week

 The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets Tuesday, February 27 at 9 am; you can find the agenda here. 

On the agenda:

• recognition of state School Counselor of the Year, Colin Moge of West Springfield High School
  
  
• lifetime achievement awards (I did not know this was a thing DESE did? I haven't seen it before that I remember) for Beth Kontos (AFT-MA President), Tom Scott (retired Executive Director of Mass Association of School Superintendents), and Dan Warwick (retiring superintendent of the Springfield Public Schools)
  I always have questions on this sort of thing: like, what if someone on the Board didn't want to do this? Did they ask ahead of time? But if this is under purview, how could they do this without violating the OML?
  
  
• More than one charter school thing: City on a Hill in Boston is voluntarily returning their charter, planning to close at the end of next year. They have decreased enrollment and haven't, per the accompanying memo, made progress towards the probationary terms the state imposed when their charter was last renewed. The amendment request is that they'd limit their enrollment to just juniors and seniors who want to complete that year there. 
  There are also a series of requested amendments all recommended by the Commissioner to grade spans and regions, as follows: 
  
  
  
  Boston Green's request aligns it with the Boston Public Schools' updated enrollment pattern. The expansions of Community Charter and Prospect Hill is, as you'd expect, opposed by those districts, of which the Department, as per usual, takes no notice beyond forwarding the letters. The consolidation requests allow those networks of schools to operate as one school; Hampden Charter plans to move to a middle school campus and a high school campus, while UP Academy wishes to ensure the elementary students can attend the middle school without going through a lottery.
  
  
• There is an update on the FY25 budget, and maybe they'll get to it this month. It's a good memo, regardless.
  
  
• And there is, as you'd expect, an item on transition and appointment of acting commissioner, as this will be Commissioner Riley's last meeting. He has recommended Russell Johnston for the acting position, but the Board has a free hand here. We do just have to have a Commissioner. This should also give us some idea of how they plan to proceed with what one hopes is a full search. 
  
  
• BUT, don't miss the last item! There were, I am told, a total of FIVE Open Meeting Law complaints filed about the Board's January meeting; I assume that was this panel that Chair Katherine Craven brought in under what she called "chair's privilege" which then led to an ensuing discussion which was not on the agenda. This was all super weird, not okay, and also strangely not at all covered save by Tom Marino. 
  Open Meeting Law complaints are filed with the public body in question, so this goes to the Board itself. Oddly, this is posted for executive session, which I haven't seen before, though the AG (thanks, William!) has ruled reason 1 for executive session, as it is to discuss "complaints or charges brought against a public official." 
  However, the Board agenda is posted with reason 3, "to discuss strategy with respect to...litigation," which this very much is not. 
  So, we'll have to see if the irony wins the day here...
  Also, under reason 1, the person against whom the complain is filed has the right to request that the discussion be held in public session; as the complaint is against the entire Board, could any single member request push the whole thing public?

And that is just Tuesday!

On Wednesday, the Mass School Building Authority board meets at 10 am. 

And I am told that on Friday, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means holds their hearing on local and education aid at Greenfield Community College, though I haven't seen that anywhere as yet.