Wendy Tyson Woods, president of the Greater Waterbury NAACP Branch, told the Waterbury Board of Education on Jan. 16 that the community expects more transparency and better-timed public input in the district’s superintendent search.

Woods said members of the NAACP attended two community input meetings and found them “ill timed and not very transparent,” and she asked the board to hold meetings at times that parents and families could attend. “When you feel like you’re not being heard, there is no other choice but to come to forums like this and put it on the record that we expect more,” she said.

The comment came during the board’s public comment period after the body voted to suspend the regular order of business to hear from the public. Woods thanked several commissioners and administrators who attended earlier community-input sessions and asked the board to consider alternatives such as weekend meetings so “parents and the children can come” and be heard.

Board members did not provide an on-the-spot response to Woods’ remarks; the rules the board stated at the start of public comment specify that statements will be referred to administration and that there would be no responses that evening. The board’s motion to suspend the regular order of business and allow public addresses was approved by voice vote before Woods began.

Why it matters: The superintendent post shapes district leadership and priorities; community members and advocacy groups told the board they want inclusive, well-publicized opportunities to comment on the search and selection process.

The board did not announce any immediate changes to the search schedule at the meeting. Woods concluded by inviting commissioners to NAACP meetings (held the third Saturday of each month at the Silas Bronson Library) and said the branch will continue to press for broader engagement.