Understanding Public Participation and State Law Ahead of Our May 26 School Committee Meeting

The Madawaska School Department welcomes community members to attend our upcoming School Committee meeting on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the Madawaska Middle/High School Library. We are grateful for your engagement and want to ensure that all community voices are heard through the appropriate, legally compliant channels.

As detailed in the attached notice, School Committee Policy BEDH states that the public participation portion of our meetings does not permit complaints or allegations concerning any person employed by the school system. We want our community to understand that this policy is not simply a district preference; it is legally required by state privacy and open meeting laws.

Specifically, this policy ensures our district complies with:

• The Maine Freedom of Access Act (Title 1 M.R.S. § 405): Maine’s open meeting law mandates that discussions regarding the evaluation, discipline, or investigation of complaints against a public employee must be held in a closed executive session to prevent unwarranted damage to an individual's reputation.

• Confidentiality of School Personnel Records (Title 20-A M.R.S. § 6101): Under Maine Education Law, public school employee records—including formal complaints —are strictly confidential. Allowing public airing of specific grievances during an open meeting would violate these state-mandated privacy protections.

Because these matters cannot be legally considered during public comment, they must be referred through our established policies and procedures.

If you have a legitimate complaint about a school employee, we genuinely encourage you to share it using the process outlined in School Committee Policy KEB - Complaints About School Personnel. This policy provides a fair, structured path for your concerns to be heard, properly investigated, and resolved, including appeal rights up to the School Committee.

We remain fully committed to taking all legitimate concerns seriously while ensuring that due process and state laws are followed for all parties. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Click here or the image above to read the notice.