Candidates Sought for North Adams School Committee Vacancy
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The School Committee is seeking applicants to fill an unexpired term for the next 10 months.
A joint meeting of the committee and the City Council will vote on the applicants at a special meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 4 p.m.
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, chair of the School Committee, told the panel on Tuesday that it would be "an all call for a letter of interest for people who are interested in joining our fantastic committee."
The vacancy was caused by the resignation of Joshua Vallieres, who was elected in 2021 to complete the last two years of a four-year term. In the meantime, he was appointed as city clerk last July, which the administration said ran afoul of an ordinance prohibiting city-paid employees to serve on the committee.
The call for nominations was to posted on both the city and school websites. Letters will be accepted until 4 p.m. Monday, Feb. 20 (this may change as that is Presidents Day). One applicant has already submitted a letter.
"We're going to go back into the file and the people who had showed interest last time, we're going to reach out to them again," the mayor said. "And we're hoping that just word of mouth and the principals and the leadership can talk it up that will get some people interested."
She confirmed to questions that the seat would be up for election in November for a four-year term.
Each candidate will be allowed 10 minutes at the joint meeting to make their case as to why they should be seated on the committee. Nominations will be taken on the floor before the council and committee members vote.
The last time this occurred was in 2020, when Emily Daunis was elected to fill a vacant seat. She was selected over six other candidates and re-elected to a full four-year term in 2021.
Any resident of the city who is eligible to vote is eligible to be elected to serve on the School Committee, a governmental body charged with overseeing the education of the city's children and the School Department, managing resources, adopting policies and hiring an executive to implement its policies.
Nominations can be sent to btassone@napsk12.org, or by hand delivery to the mayor's office at City Hall by Feb. 20 at 4 p.m.
Tags: North Adams School Committee, vacancy,
