Committee to investigate mascot process

Rutland City School Board of Commissioners Committee to investigate mascot process https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/committee-to-investigate-mascot-process/article_acbbe457-949b-5bb5-a9ca-7df477b66133.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR2iJ0h4voJ_duBJr66ntMrnAtOyl1Yiz7rhmYorYk0vv5oo1D8bVEsJbCU By Jim Sabataso Staff Writer 18 hrs ago 0 A new committee has been charged with investigating the process by which the Rutland City Board of School Commissioners retired and replaced its mascot. At Tuesday’s regular board meeting, held virtually on Zoom, Board Chairman Hurley Cavacas announced the creation of an ad hoc committee to explore the issue. “I hope that having this ad hoc committee will have the desired result of helping us make proper and well-reasoned decisions about these issues,” said Cavacas. The committee of four, which features equal representation on both sides of the issue, is composed of commissioners Ann Dages, Dena Goldberg, Charlene Seward and Stephanie Stoodley. Cavacas cited Board Policy 1330, which allows for temporary and ad hoc committees to be “created by the President at his/her discretion.” He said he was establishing the committee “in an effort to clarify the facts and the issues for the board so that it can reasonably and respectfully decide how to proceed in connection with the mascot issue.” He then read a memo, outlining the committee’s charge to: — Determine the procedures that were followed during the board’s prior action to change the Rutland City Public Schools mascot and report on what occurred, when it occurred and how it occurred. — Consult with any needed experts on Robert’s Rules of Order to identify whether the process was carried out correctly and, if not, what are the consequences? — Report to the board the facts, results and conclusions of the committee’s research. — Answer the question of whether the board’s prior action(s) and decision(s) can be properly revisited or reconsidered and, if so, how? — Make recommendations to the board on what next steps might considered proper, knowing that only the board has the authority to act on these issues. “The committee should establish timelines and reasonably accomplish its work and report back to the board so that we know when we might expect the report from the committee,” Cavacas stated. In addition to reading the memo aloud during the meeting, Cavacas said he would email it to the entire board. Speaking Wednesday morning, Dages said she had not yet received the memo. When asked by the Herald at 2:40 p.m. Wednesday afternoon when commissioners should expect to receive the memo, Cavacas said, “it will be actually going out.” At 3:06 p.m., Cavacas emailed a copy of the memo to the Herald. In the email, he stated that the memo was “sent out today” to board members by the administrative assistant to the superintendent. Dages later forwarded an email to the Herald, which showed she received the memo at 3 p.m. Dages said she first learned about the ad hoc committee after last month’s board meeting when Cavacas sent an email to commissioners with new committee assignments. In that email, sent April 23, Dages, Goldberg, Seward and Stoodley are listed as members of an ad hoc committee titled “Policy and Procedure Review.” The email does not explain that this committee is related to the mascot. “I didn’t know what that committee meant,” said Dages, who added that she first heard about the nature of the committee when it was reported in the Herald last week. Dages said she still doesn’t have a clear understanding of what the committee is being asked to do, noting that Cavacas did not speak to her about it personally. “I’m really not sure what Hurley’s desire is with the committee,” she said. While efforts on Tuesday to further discuss the committee were stymied by Cavacas — and a motion by Commissioner Alison Notte to make the ad hoc committee a committee of the whole board failed — Dages said she would have preferred a more in-depth discussion with the full board. “Sure, it’s well within the purview of the board chair, (but) I think it’s good form to discuss it in the board meeting when something comes up,” she said. Nonetheless, Dages said, she will do her part. “I’m happy to step on the committee, and I’m eager to work with my fellow board members (in) meaningful, respectful ways. I hope it’s enlightening to me,” she said. “We’ve gone through a lot of discussion in the past 10-12 months since the issue was brought to the district. … I’m hoping we can find something meaningful and valuable to move forward in the ad hoc committee.” Goldberg said she, like Dages, first learned about the committee in the April 23 email, but didn’t know it was related to the mascot until she read about it in the Herald and “through other sources.” She added that Cavacas spoke to her about it directly on Monday. In her conversation with Cavacas, Goldberg said she stressed the need for a firm deadline by which the committee should complete its work, stating that she doesn’t want to “drag on this matter for months and months.” As she understands it, the ad hoc committee is focused on investigating the procedural part of the decision more than continuing to debate the appropriateness of the Raider name and arrowhead logo. She noted she has made her position supporting the removal of the name and logo clear. “At this point, I am participating in whatever seems to be moving us forward and trying to bring some resolution to this matter,” said Goldberg. Another apparent surprise to commissioners Tuesday night was Cavacas’ announcement that the board would hold a special meeting related to the mascot tentatively scheduled for June 22. “It’s going to be an opportunity for those individuals who did not get a chance to speak to speak because we had a packed, packed agenda,” Cavacas said Wednesday, explaining that the meeting would be separate from the work being done by the ad hoc committee. Cavacas pointed to that “packed agenda” at Tuesday’s meeting when he informed the 15 members of the public who had registered to address the board that they would be limited to 1 minute each. Dages said she wasn’t aware Cavacas would be reducing public comment time to 1 minute, and expressed her disappointment in his doing so. While she acknowledged that it’s not uncommon for board chairs to limit public comment time based on the number of speakers, she contended that she didn’t think it was necessary in this case. “There weren’t that many people,” said Dages. “If you had 30 or 40 people, maybe you’d want to limit it. I’m happy to listen to the public for almost as long as it takes. That’s why we are there. And that’s who we serve.” Multiple calls to commissioners Seward and Stoodley were not immediately returned Wednesday. jim.sabataso @rutlandherald.com jim.sabataso@rutlandherald.com https://www.rutlandherald.com/news/local/committee-to-investigate-mascot-process/article_acbbe457-949b-5bb5-a9ca-7df477b66133.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR2jq-SsrS06qNw54AND9tQ6pSPZPBbQ8PkP990SetptWNVSp5nuAjjPBh4