Amesbury School Committee Meeting
The committee approved Amesbury Middle School's 8th-grade overnight trip to Boston and the 6th-grade three-day Camp Bournedale, and accepted several grants including a $15,600 Attorney General phone-free schools grant, a $8,946 Toshiba AWQ grant, and earmarks totaling $84,000 for athletics and third-grade Chromebooks.
The School Committee meeting opened with public comment from parents raising serious concerns about special education practices, alleged predetermination in IEP decisions, and requests for formal investigation and leadership changes in the Office of Student Services. Committee members then reviewed start-of-year activity reports from the superintendent and the Student Advisory Council, which included early implementation details of a bell-to-bell phone-free policy at the secondary level and plans for student focus groups and family surveys about technology use.
CPAC presented on wraparound services, seclusion-room observations at Cashman, and the need for clearer parent consent processes and trauma-informed approaches. Subcommittee updates covered facilities work (parking lot lining, signage, AMS air-conditioning, tennis courts, baseball field punch list) and policy committee business, including a first reading of a district policy required by the state's Protect Act (interaction with civil law enforcement on school grounds). The committee voted to approve two student field trips (8th-grade Boston overnight and 6th-grade Camp Bournedale) and to accept multiple grants and earmarks (including the Attorney General phone-free schools grant and Chromebooks/athletics earmarks). Routine items — minutes, warrants/payrolls, and other consent matters — were also handled before adjournment.
Points of interest
