There was no vote on the matter, but it appears that the Barrington School Committee will be returning to in-person meetings. 

At the Feb. 17 meeting (which was held on Zoom), Barrington School Committee Chairwoman Gina Bae polled her fellow committee members on the subject. 

The response was split. 

Dr. Megan Douglas and Patrick McCrann leaned toward returning to in-person meetings or offering a hybrid (a combination of an in-person meeting with remote access available). Erika Sevetson and Amanda Regino Basse were clearly in favor of remaining fully virtual. 

Eventually, members appeared to reach a consensus: They would return to hybrid meetings, where the committee would meet in-person and allow for in-person attendance by the public, while also offering online access. 

Members weigh in

Dr. Douglas said there was an advantage to having hybrid meetings. 

She said the access to the hybrid meetings is better, adding that she was personally in favor of moving to in-person meetings as long as the hybrid model was offered. The school committee utilizes the presentation room at the middle school for its hybrid meetings; that room is specially equipped to offer the virtual interaction between those meeting in-person with those who are logged in online.

Ms. Regino Basse said she preferred the virtual option, where all committee members and the public are logged in remotely. She said virtual meetings are easier for people who have partners who travel or those who have children. 

“As long as it’s allowed, I like the virtual option,” Ms. Regino Basse said. 

Ms. Sevetson questioned whether the the hybrid meeting experience was good for people logging in online; there were reports that it may have been difficult for those in-person to hear those online, and vice versa. Ms. Sevetson said the virtual meeting also offers people the freedom to live their lives while waiting for the public comment portion of the meeting. 

Mr. McCrann said the committee should be meeting in-person. 

He said students and teachers are meeting in-person each school day, and large groups are gathering in cafeterias. Mr. McCrann said holding in-person meetings is how the school committee should function, adding that he felt very disconnected from people while meeting online. 

Mr. McCrann said it is important that as leaders, the school committee be out front and center. He said committee members should not be asking others to do things that the committee members aren’t already doing themselves. Mr. McCrann said the school committee had previously done a great job governing in-person before the pandemic.

Dr. Douglas responded harshly to Mr. McCrann’s comments. 

She said he was creating a false dichotomy — she said she did not think that other school committee members were saying they wanted to meet virtually because they were afraid or didn’t want to be “out front.” Dr. Douglas said other members gave valid reasons for why the virtual meetings worked for them.

You set us up to make it look like were were saying one thing, Dr. Douglas said to Mr. McCrann. I don’t think anybody was saying that, she added.

Dr. Douglas then said that workshops, like the one the school committee held during the Feb. 17 meeting, were much better when held in-person. 

Mr. McCrann responded to Dr. Douglas’s comments — he said he never used the words fear or afraid when speaking about meeting virtually or online. He apologized if that was inferred from his comments, but said the larger point was that he had struggled asking some people to conduct their work in person (teachers and students, for example) while he did not follow that same approach as a school committee member. 

“I’m talking about myself. I’m not talking about other people,” Mr. McCrann said. “I’m just stating my personal opinion.”

Ms. Bae tried to further explain what Dr. Douglas was saying. Ms. Bae said that school settings where students are together are different than the setting of a public meeting.

Mr. McCrann countered, stating all the kids are getting together and adults are getting together. 

Dr. Douglas said there was a difference between adults and kids. She said kids listen to adults and teachers have control over their classrooms. Dr. Douglas said the school committee has had experiences where adults don’t always listen, “which is unfortunate.” She said she spends time in front of people every day with multiple masks on. “That part of the argument needs to go away,” she said. 

Dr. Douglas then referenced a drop in the number of cases recently.

Ms. Bae said people do feel more connected when the meetings are in-person. She also said that hybrid meetings allow for better engagement. Ms. Bae then said she was sort of indifferent — she did not mind meeting virtually and did not mind meeting in person. She later added that the numbers were decreasing and would like to see the committee meeting in-person.

Ms. Bae eventually said it appeared that members of the school committee were OK meeting in-person. 

The decision never reached a vote. 

Ms. Bae asked the district’s legal counsel, Sara Rapport, if a vote was needed. Ms. Rapport said the committee had “articulated” a consensus. She also reminded committee members of the original purpose for allowing virtual meetings — she said the executive order was made due to health concerns about rising case numbers, dispelling the idea that the meetings should remain online for the convenience of some school committee members.

The decision to return to in-person meetings opens the door for the Barrington School Committee to hold an in-person appeal hearing for the three teachers who were fired for refusing to follow the committee’s vaccine mandate. Previously, the committee had requested a virtual hearing because some members were reportedly uncomfortable meeting in public where some attendees may be unvaccinated.