FRAMINGHAM - During their meeting at the Memorial Building on Tuesday, July 16, members of the Framingham City Council were joined by School Superintendent Dr. Robert Tremblay to continue their conversation regarding school safety and violence.

Concerns from the public in recent months have regarded incidents involving students, such as fights within school buildings and on buses.

In turn, District 4 City Councilor Michael Cannon invoked Article II of the city’s Home Rule Charter on June 25, requiring Tremblay to come before the City Council and to review the matter. The motion approved by councilors last months included an invitation for members of the School Committee to attend, as Chair of the School Committee Jessica Barnhill took part Tuesday’s discussion as well. Cannon’s decision to invoke the charter was not met without criticism; multiple School Committee members agreed with the statement made by District 4’s Adam Freudberg during their meeting on June 26 that called the motion "inappropriate,” as some felt that the City Council had infringed on their own roles as elected officials.

On Tuesday, Tremblay told councilors that Framingham Public Schools does try to provide services to troubled students while still maintaining consequences for misbehavior, but he noted that the state law mandates that there are certain limitations for punishments. A document provided to the City Council recently shows that Framingham suspends students at a much higher rate than any other urban municipality in Massachusetts.

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“While people look at the Code of Charter, Conduct and Support—we call it The Code—as this sort of soft, ‘kids don’t need discipline, they need a hug’ mindset, I think both are true, frankly,” Tremblay said on Tuesday.

“I think kids need hugs and they also need concrete consequences for actions.”

Tremblay added that the school district has been utilizing in-school suspensions more often recently in order to keep students on school grounds and to offer them an education while still having “a restorative conversation.” The vast majority--around 87%--of suspensions in the city's schools last year were not related to violence, according to Framingham Public Schools.

The superintendent called for increased communication and collaboration between school officials, municipal leaders, and the community as a whole. He named parents and other community members as partners in trying to discipline misconduct and to work towards a solution.

Cannon, meanwhile, told Tremblay that he was disappointed that the City Council has not been updated on safety measures “as a courtesy” following previous conversation on school safety, including one that took place back in February. He added that local officials should know more about efforts to keep students safe at all grade levels.

“The more we peel back the layers, the worse it seems to get…It almost feels like: disguised as empowering leadership in the building to handle an issue, issues that should be reported to the School Committee, to you, to the community, and certainly to us are almost brushed under the rug, and it seems calculated,” Cannon told Tremblay.

Tremblay explained that student privacy rights still have to be considered when sharing updates to the public. He also mentioned that he and members of the School Committee are willing to make themselves available to any concerned constituents, including those who have reached out to their respective councilor about school safety concerns. Barnhill echoed this sentiment, urging the City Council to reach out to their respective School Committee colleagues in their district to pass along any problems regarding schools that they hear from residents.

Multiple City Council members clarified that they did not want to infringe on any School Committee duties. However, At-Large City Councilor George King did note that councilors do have a vested interest in school matters, considering that they are the group that gives the final approval to the annual school budget.

City officials expressed a desire to continue collaborative efforts on this matter going forward. Another joint meeting between the City Council and the School Committee could potentially be held in the coming months, either prior to or soon after the start of the school year.