A member of the public called out a member of the School Committee during a meeting earlier this month.

Lisa Daft criticized an unnamed member of the Barrington School Committee for allegedly intervening in the selection of a speaker for an assembly at Barrington High School.

Daft, speaking during the first public comment period in the meeting, said the high school had invited Betsy Brenner to speak to BHS students about eating disorders. Brenner, a Barrington resident and a former tennis coach at Barrington High School, has written a book about the subject and held more than 100 speaking events across the country. 

Daft said Brenner received a phone call two days before she was to speak at Barrington High School and told that her event had been canceled. 

Daft said a School Committee member wanted to send a doctor to speak to the students about eating disorders. 

Daft said one parent had spoken with the School Committee member.

“That parent could have opted out,” Daft said during the meeting. 

Daft, whose husband is an assistant principal at Barrington High School, said the school has had plenty of speakers in the past whose lived experiences are the reason they are chosen to share their stories with local students. She referenced Chris Herren, a Fall River, Mass. native and former NBA player who has spoken with BHS students about the dangers of substance abuse. 

Daft said the School Committee member did not have the authority to override the decision made by school officials to choose Brenner for the speaking event. She said the School Committee should not be micro-managing the district. 

“This was wrong on so many levels,” Daft said, adding that she believes Brenner is owed an apology.

‘…an open book’ 

Brenner was featured in a 2021 Barrington Times article. Her book, titled “The Longest Match, rally to defeat an eating disorder in midlife,” details Brenner’s story of discovery and recovery from an eating disorder she developed in her forties.

Through her book and at speaking events, Brenner offers an honest, detailed look at her life: She grew up playing competitive tennis and continued in college, playing Division I tennis at Brown University. Tennis remained an important part of her life, but in her 40s Brenner developed severe asthma. That forced her to take a break from tennis, and it also served to expose her eating disorder. 

Brenner told the Barrington Times that her eating disorder and eventual recovery has led her to better understand her own life. She said she has been happy to share her story with others. 

“I literally become an open book,” Brenner told the Times. “But I really feel I can help people… I feel like it’s really helped me heal. … it’s such a relief to have this out there.”

According to her website, Brenner has shared dozens of speaking engagements, including recent events with Morgan’s Message, which is a group of high school and collegiate student athlete campus ambassadors, with students at URI and Plymouth State University, and with patients at numerous residential treatment centers across the country.