Mrs. Berkowitz Charges Board With Illegal Private Sessions-This Day In Norwood History-June 20, 1968

Freshman Committeewoman Alleges Open Meeting Law Abuses Over Weekly Executive Agenda

An intense internal conflict emerged within the Norwood School Committee last night when freshman committeewoman Mrs. Judith Berkowitz formally charged that the board has been holding executive sessions illegally. Striking directly at long-standing board procedures, Mrs. Berkowitz claimed that the committee is “abusing” the open meeting law exceptions by automatically including a closed executive session on each and every weekly meeting agenda. To remedy what she identifies as a systemic violation of public trust, she requested that the committee immediately change its policy to ensure private sessions are only scheduled when an explicit, legally qualified topic arises.

The freshman official’s sharp challenge was met with swift resistance from veteran members of the board. School board chairman John J. Cavanaugh defended the current methodology, stating that the policy for automatic executive sessions had been democratically set by a vote of the board more than a year ago. “Until there is a policy change, we will continue this way,” he stated flatly. Member William Egan added a personal rebuke, noting, “You’ve only been on the board five months and you’re talking like we’ve been here for five months and you’ve been here for 20 years.”

Undeterred by the pushback, Mrs. Berkowitz noted that a spot check she conducted of the procedures used by area school committees proved, “We are conducting some of our meetings illegally.” She maintained that the group should only enter a closed session when a matter arises that genuinely belongs behind closed doors. “We should not include an executive session on each agenda,” she told the board.

Quoting directly from the Massachusetts open meeting law to anchor her legal charge, Mrs. Berkowitz emphasized that closed sessions are strictly limited to instances where the topic cannot be made public under the law, or due to federal grant-in-aid requirements. Furthermore, executive sessions are legally permitted only if making a matter public would adversely affect the public security, state or local financial interests, or individual reputations. “I feel we are acting against public interest,” she declared. Despite her protest, historical logs show the board’s weekly executive session agenda routinely includes broad, non-emergency topics such as routine resignations, appointments, suspensions, and general school committee and superintendent’s addenda.