Cara Stillings-Candal, Chair, welcomed guests to a special meeting of the Board of Trustees and introduced the members of the Board. Stillings-Candal provided guests with an overview of the discussion and votes taken at the November 25 Board of Trustees meeting, which included both the decision to surrender the City on a Hill New Bedford charter and co-locate City on a Hill Circuit Street and City on a Hill Dudley Square effective January 2020.

Stillings-Candal announced that the Board of Trustees would open the floor for General Public Comment. City on a Hill students, families, teachers and community members made statements regarding their reactions to the proposed plan of co-locating the Boston schools. Additionally, members of the Boston Teachers Union (BTU) introduced an alternative plan (the "Separate Schools Plan"), which outlines an alternative to co-location.

Stillings-Candal thanked the speakers for their comments and reiterated the Board's commitment to building a stronger academic program for students.

Following the Public Comment portion of the meeting, the Board announced a brief recess given the previous section was extended beyond its originally scheduled time. Cara Stillings-Candal, Chair, announced that the Board would return for the remainder of the agenda in twenty minutes and invited anyone who would like to remain to join the rest of the public meeting.

Jackie Hayes, Chief of Staff & General Counsel, introduced a complaint against the charter of City on a Hill New Bedford. The complaint was made by a former employee and concerns the provision of special education services at City on a Hill New Bedford.

Following an overview of the process of investigation, including conducting an initial audit of the program with the Network Director of Specialized Services and interviews with staff, Hayes recommended the Board continues to monitor compliance with additional audits of the program through closure of the school in June 2020.