Residents press committee on district policy they say allows knives, raise safety and religious‑liberty concerns

Several callers used the public‑comment period to challenge a district policy they said permits knives on campus and to raise questions about public transparency.

At the Zoom microphone, Jeremy Ford described a public‑records request for educational settlement agreements and called the policy "not safe," saying it was "unconstitutional for all the other religions" and that he would publish materials on parents.com. Jason Applebee, calling from outside Hopkinton, warned repeatedly that "our children's safety trumps everything" and said allowing knives into schools would place an extra burden on already overworked teachers. Andrew Kerr alleged that an earlier community poll about the policy showed evidence of manipulation and described the policy as religiously discriminatory toward some faiths.

Committee rules limited back‑and‑forth during public comment, and no committee member engaged in extended rebuttal during the period. The committee moved on to the agenda after closing public comment; members later discussed district safety and the strategic plan during committee business.