School Committee votes 7-2-1 on retreat facilitator

School Committee · Meeting of March 2, 2026

NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton School Committee voted 7-2-1 to hold a March 30 retreat facilitated by Tracy Novick over objections from two members. Member Michael Stein voted present and said he would not participate in a "MASC facilitated retreat, especially by Tracy Novak," calling the facilitator's ties to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees a conflict with the committee's planned discussion of its own rules. Member Valerie Reiss told the board a professional facilitator would otherwise cost $1,800 to $2,000.

The retreat, aimed at revising the committee's rules of procedure, had already been postponed once after Vice Chair Alena Bartoli could not find a facilitator by the original March 2 date. Member Amy Martyn voted no. The committee also unanimously voted to enter executive session to discuss collective bargaining and litigation strategy.

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Source: the School Committee meeting of March 2, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.