City Hall·Bangor Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion & Human Rights
Bangor equity committee weighs ethics training options after council referral
The Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, Inclusion and Human Rights met September 29 and heard a presentation from Bangor School Department Director of Civil Rights Dana Carver-Fiala on the district's Community of Belonging advisory committee. The committee also began reviewing training options it was asked to recommend to the City Council after an ethics finding against a councilor, and welcomed new member Annie Tompkins.
Key points
- Dana Carver-Fiala, the school department's director of civil rights, described the district's advisory committee, its evolution from a DEI committee to the Community of Belonging Advisory Committee, and past efforts including a "Shop at Schools" event that stocked four schools with groceries and household items.
- Carver-Fiala said the district plans to hold another Shop at Schools event the week before February break and invited the city committee to collaborate.
- Committee chair Katie Brydon said the City Council referred a request for training recommendations tied to a Code of Ethics finding against a councilor over comments about a group based on race, national origin or cultural group.
- Members reviewed a spreadsheet of possible trainings, with several pointing to the National Equity Project and a course on the impact of communications at work as strong candidates.
- City Council liaison Michael Beck clarified the training is for the individual councilor named in the ethics finding, not a general requirement for all councilors, and that the city solicitor said the city has no in-house training for this.
- New member Annie Tompkins introduced herself; Brydon noted member Kathryn Robinson has left the committee and several vacancies remain.
Next steps
- Committee members will review the training spreadsheet and return to a future meeting to settle on a formal recommendation to the City Council.
- Carver-Fiala will check with the district's communications director on whether Bangor schools recognize October as Dyslexia Awareness Month.
- The committee plans to revisit collaboration with the school district's Community of Belonging committee, possibly next quarter.
Where this came from
City of Bangor YouTube
The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.
Watch the meeting ↗The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.