Jeffrey L. Gosselin. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS FILE PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Former Westfield School Committee member Jeffrey Gosselin submitted an open meeting law complaint to the City of Westfield regarding an alleged violation that occurred at the Feb. 22, 2021 school committee meeting.
Gosselin said a discussion occurred under “any other items not reasonably anticipated 48 hours prior to the meeting,” regarding the school committee’s stipend increase request.
Gosselin writes that at the meeting, “School Committee Vice-Chair O’Connor made a Motion to send a letter to the City Council and L&O subcommittee for an increase in the rate of compensation for members of the Westfield School Committee. School Committee member Bo Sullivan, seconded the motion. A general discussion took place with various members giving thoughts and opinions. The Chair/Mayor and School Committee then entertained questions and comments by allowing City Councilor William Onyski to next ask questions and give comments. The school committee then voted to send a letter to the city council.”
During the meeting, O’Connor did comment under “any other items” that Committee member Cindy Sullivan had asked that the letter to the City Council regarding a stipend increase be “resurrected.”
The letter containing the request had originally been sent March 4, 2020 to the Council, after discussions had taken place in the School Committee the previous fall, in August 2019 and October 2019, according to Sullivan.
O’Connor then made a motion to resubmit the letter, which Committee member Bo Sullivan seconded.
“It’s never a good time to talk about any elected official receiving a pay increase. It has been 18 or 19 years since the School Committee has had an increase. It’s important that it be brought forward,” Cindy Sullivan said, adding that the official discussion and vote took place well before the pandemic. “Who would have known this would be the year of the pandemic,” she said.
“I really hope that we can get through this with someone appreciating the work we’ve been doing,” saidCommittee member Heather Sullivan.
“To reiterate the fact, we are only scheduled to meet twice a month. This is my 12th year, and I can’t remember a month when we met only twice,” added Cindy Sullivan.
During the Feb. 22 meeting, O’Connor noted that Councilor William Onyski was on the call. “We just want to make sure we’re getting everything right into their hands,” O’Connor said, referring to the City Council.
Onyski asked them to give the council the amount that the School Committee would like for a raise. O’Connor said the letter dated March 4, 2020 outlined the School Committee’s recommendation that the stipend be two-thirds of that of the City Council. “We didn’t put a dollar amount in there,” O’Connor said. He said in response to another question from Onyski that the letter would remain “as previously requested or presented.”
Following the discussion, the School Committee voted unanimously to resubmit the letter.
Gosselin asserts that the school committee increase in stipend pay was not properly listed on the agenda item in the meeting. Also that Onyski did not follow proper procedure for the meeting with no submission under public participation, and not appearing on the agenda.
“I believe the Westfield School Committee violated the Open Meeting Laws by both conducting a Motion to send a letter to the City Council for an increase in the rate of compensation, having both discussion and Motion not on the Agenda. In addition, Public Participation legal procedure applies to all stakeholders, including city council members as well as individual citizens and people,” Gosselin wrote in the complaint.
Gosselin also asked for a review by the municipal and/or state legal departments of the Westfield School Committee Motion made under “Other business” and not listed on the agenda, to make a summary judgement and thoughts as to if any standard MGL and proper procedures were followed or if the Open Meeting Laws were violated.
O’Connor and Cindy Sullivan said March 8 they could not comment on the complaint. O’Connor said it will be on the agenda at the March 15 School Committee meeting, although he was not certain whether it would be discussed in public or executive session.
Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski said that the attorney for Westfield Public Schools was reviewing the complaint, and his response would be shared at the March 15 meeting.
The School Committee stipend increase passed the City Council on March 4 on a vote of 12-0 with one recusal, a year to the day that the request had been made.
