Cambridge Parent Alleges School Committee Member Broke Open Meeting Law

When Cambridge School Committee member Elizabeth C.P. Hudson sent an email to a parent listserv on Thursday, she did not realize it would be her last.

But after a complaint that Hudson violated quorum by sending messages on the listserv was filed, Hudson removed herself from the listserv on Friday.

Per Massachusetts Open Meeting Law, a quorum of a public body members are prohibited from deliberating “outside of a noticed meeting.”

Prior to Hudson’s exit, four current School Committee members had joined the listserv — constituting a quorum of the committee — according to Jesse Nahan, the moderator for the Cambridge Public Schools parent listserv.

Cambridge parent Isabella C. Ehrlich asked the city to review whether School Committee members could deliberate on the listserv in her complaint.

“If they are in violation of the OML, I would like the SC members to be prevented from using this exclusive list-serv as a means for deliberation,” the complaint reads.

Ehrlich declined to comment on the complaint, writing in an email that she was directing “all my energy and attention” to advocating for caregivers and staff at the Kennedy-Longfellow School, a K-5 school that is facing potential closure.

As Ehrlich waits for her complaint to be resolved, parents questioned whether the committee member’s involvement on the listserv constitutes official deliberation, and what other avenues members can use to engage with parents.

The Massachusetts Commonwealth recommends that elected officials “use caution” when joining online listservs that might discuss “subject matters within the jurisdiction of their public body.”

But in September, the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General found that the Brookline Advisory Committee did not violate Open Meeting Law by corresponding on a closed listserv.

According to a letter sent by Assistant Attorney General Kerry A. Kilcoyne, the listserv was open to elected officials — including the Brookline Advisory Committee. The general public could not join the listserv.

Though certain posts from the Advisory Committee members pertained to matters “within the jurisdiction of the Committee, we find no evidence that the posts involved communication directed to a quorum of the Committee, or that a quorum of Committee members responded to the posts of other members,” Kilcoyne wrote in the letter.

The legal precedent established by the Attorney General's office may apply to Cambridge. Though a quorum of School Committee members were on the listserv, Hudson was the only member who frequently sent comments.

Hudson’s exit from the listserv unearthed frustrations among parents that School Committee members can be hard to access.

“I’m kind of disappointed that Lizzie Hudson left the listserv because I was getting a lot of information,” Francis J. Bingham, whose child goes to Graham & Parks Elementary School, said. “All the other committee members should be communicating with the public outside of the committee meeting context, and they’re not doing that.”

In an interview with The Crimson, Hudson said that her purpose in engaging on the listserv was to close the gap between district officials and parents.

“If you ask people, one of their primary gripes is that they can’t reach School Committee members. They can’t reach the administration,” she said. “We’ve got a lot of issues, and none of them will get better without more conversation.”

“That was my purpose. I will be honest, I do not see how an Open Meeting Law complaint serves that purpose,” she said.

Though Andrew M. Groh — whose child attends Cambridge Street Upper School — found Hudson to be the most responsive of the School Committee members, he said that he has generally found School Committee members accessible via email.

“I think other members communicate less so and are probably going to communicate even less now with this complaint that has been filed,” he said. “I would like to see them have more newsletters or things like that.”

Other parents are hopeful that the complaint will ultimately lead to greater transparency and increased access to School Committee meetings and members.

Lilly Havstad, a parent at Graham & Parks Elementary School, wrote in an email to The Crimson that she hopes that the complaint and its aftermath will prompt the School Committee to increase communication with parents.

“I sincerely hope that the SC takes this complaint as an opportunity to finally commit to more transparent, open, and regular dialogue with the public, beyond the listserv,” she wrote.

—Staff writer Darcy G Lin can be reached at darcy.lin@thecrimson.com.