By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — Hoping to communicate better and to reach a larger audience, the Board of Education is going to launch a Facebook page.

School officials’ curated accounts of board business are to be posted to the site once it is up. Comments will not be allowed.

While some balked at that caveat, board Chairwoman Lee Goldstein said at Monday’s meeting that without the “no comment” rule, the Facebook idea would be a non-starter.

“This is a corporate board trying to honor this passion for communication and transparency,” Goldstein said. “Everyone has to give a little.”

Goldstein said comments posted to the page could not be moderated for factualness.

“It can’t be a free-for-all,” she said.

Freedom of Information Act laws might also come into play, the board was warned, if one or more board members started an online dialogue with commenters.

Anyone who wants to comment on the board’s business has to come to meetings, Goldstein said.

Transparency questioned on equity, strategic plans

The idea of the board reaching out more to the public came at least, in part, from criticism that the school district was not transparent enough during discussions of an equity study and efforts to make social and emotional learning a cornerstone of a still-evolving strategic plan.

Board members Robert Harrington — who tried and failed last month to win approval of an ad hoc committee to monitor the strategic planning work — volunteered along with Christina Torres to draft the “mutual summaries” that will be tweaked by board members and then posted on the page to which anyone can subscribe.

They called it another layer of communication.

“I think there is a core of people who come to meetings and engage,” Harrington said. “There are a lot of people who are busy, who may not think to come to the town’s website.”

While most board members saw the benefit of using social media as a communication tool, some wondered about using other platforms such as Instagram, TikTok or direct emails to members of the school community.

Board member Kevin Christie called a Facebook page just another avenue of communication.

Board already has varied communication outlets

Board member Neil Phillips suggested there are plenty of ways for the public to learn about what is going on, from local media to the school district’s website. The board’s meetings are also live-streamed and archived for later viewing on the website.

What would the board be posting on Facebook that is any different from what is already out there, Phillips asked.

For one, board Vice Chairwoman Liz Heyer said it would be a message the board could control and perhaps be more comprehensive.

“We never know unless we try,” Heyer said. She said she understands not everyone likes Facebook.

Goldstein agreed the experiment would continue through June to see how it works.

She suggested that outreach be coupled with periodic emails and brown-bag sessions at the Westport Library.

Initiative draws parents’ questions

Parent Danielle Teplica, after hearing the board’s discussion, said it’s not hard for the public to find the board agenda.

“The information is out there,” Teplica said, calling the new step generous, if not too generous.

Camilo Riano, another parent, called creating an official board Facebook page a very bad idea.

Rather than private platforms, board information should be available on the district website, he suggested.

Riano said criticism about the school board’s communication and transparency had to do with no minutes being posted about meetings on the equity study or strategic planning.

He also objected to the idea that board would respond to public comments at meetings.

“If you answer when I talk, I want to answer back,” Riano said.