Subcommittee to craft public narrative, seek prior studies and finalize SOI materials before March 10

Committee members concluded the meeting by agreeing on immediate next steps to support a public-facing push in advance of an SOI on the March school committee agenda. They asked staff and consultants to locate past studies and town records that document earlier requests and decisions so the subcommittee can answer questions about why prior recommendations were not implemented.

The group directed consultants to convert a large technical slide deck into a set of short, targeted presentations and talking points that pair concise numbers with human stories to explain tax implications to residents without children. The committee discussed paying for local newspaper distribution and the possibility of corporate sponsorship to underwrite outreach costs; one member said distribution to both towns runs about $600 per insertion.

The subcommittee scheduled follow-up work and asked to meet before March 10 to finalize narrative fragments and public materials. No final outreach contract or spending authorization was approved during the meeting.