An open letter to the Board of Education (BOE) in East Haddam:

During the September 10th Board of Education meeting, a decision was made to no longer post draft meeting minutes on the BOE website, and to only make them available at the BOE offices, following the state’s legal minimum requirements.  As a taxpayer and parent in East Haddam, I think this is a poor decision. 

Parents and citizens of East Haddam are accustomed to having access to meeting minutes on the BOE website. This includes agendas and draft minutes.  If a citizen were to speak at one of their meetings, the ability to read the minutes prior to acceptance and correct any misinformation is greatly limited.  To change this now, in a time when there is growing concern over the policy changes being made by the Administration, increases distrust in the Board’s decisions. 

Our citizen’s expectations have been that we are provided with what we need and want, not simply what the state minimum legal requirements are.  Changes being made by the Administration have been happening so quickly it is more important than ever to have access to ALL minutes so that we have sufficient time to evaluate them and be involved in the process.  This decision limits our ability to be fully involved with decisions being made involving our children’s education.