Public commenter cites expert on 'passing the trash,' urges school-council coordination

Pittsfield City Council · December 23, 2024

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Summary

A public commenter cited Dr. Carol Shakeshaft's work on "organizational betrayal," warned against the practice of "passing the trash," and asked the school committee and city council to collaborate on sustained personnel and investigative reforms; Councilor Koenig signaled he would comment further.

A public commenter urged sustained action on personnel and investigative reforms, citing national expert Dr. Carol Shakeshaft and her book Organizational Betrayal.

The unidentified commenter said the community "needs to be united on this issue, not just critical," and warned that problems often fade after the initial publicity. The speaker invoked Shakeshaft’s term "passing the trash" to describe moving problematic employees between organizations instead of addressing misconduct.

The commenter pressed for concrete, continuing oversight, saying the school committee and city council must "work together if we are to get through this," and added they would bring further, specific proposals later. The transcript does not specify those proposals.

Councilor Koenig then took the floor, thanking President White and saying, "I'd like to, at the risk of being redundant, there's a little more that I can say," indicating the council planned to address the topic further in its remarks.

No formal motions or votes related to the subject are recorded in this transcript excerpt. The speaker did not identify themself by name in the record.