Southbridge School Committee Completes Section B Policy Review, Schedules June Session

SOUTHBRIDGE -- May 13, 2026, Southbridge School Committee finishes Section B of its policy manual overhaul, dropping a legally questionable "supreme authority" clause and flagging the absence of required school councils. Working with a Massachusetts Association of School Committees consultant at its May 13 meeting, the committee voted unanimously on more than a dozen policy items, including dropping policy BGV-1, which had declared committee policies "the supreme authority of the school district", language the consultant said could not be legally supported given federal regulations, board of health authority, and gubernatorial emergency powers. The committee also removed a provision that had allowed four members to jointly propose agenda items, which the consultant identified as a potential Open Meeting Law violation. Members acknowledged Southbridge does not currently have functioning school councils as required under Massachusetts education reform law, particularly at the high school level, and identified that as a goal for the coming year. The committee adjourned at 7:14 p.m. and will continue into Section C, covering administration, at a June 4 subcommittee session.