The Southborough and regional school committees have some “big shoes to fill,” said Superintendent Charles Gobron.
Those big shoes belong to Southborough resident Paul Gaffney who last week formally resigned his position on both the Southborough School Committee and the Northborough/Southborough Regional School Committee.
Gaffney told committee members back in June that he had accepted a new job in California. While he plans to still live in Southborough, increased travel will make it impossible for him to participate fully on the committees.
Gaffney had served on the school committees since the fall of 2003 when he was appointed to fill mid-term vacancies.
His resignation means both the Southborough and regional school committees have a vacancy they need to fill. School committee members are normally elected, but in the case of a mid-term resignation, a replacement is appointed. The appointment process is slightly different for each of the two boards.
The position on the Southborough School Committee is jointly appointed by the remaining school committee members and the Board of Selectmen. Each school committee member (4) and each selectman (3) has one vote.
While both Northborough and Southborough school committee members get to interview candidates for the vacancy on the regional school committee, only the remaining Southborough members (4) get to vote.
(Interesting to note that in a general election, Northborough residents get to vote on the Southborough candidates for regional school committee, but in the case of an appointment, Northborough doesn’t get a vote. This is per the Regional Agreement.)
Candidates for both positions will be interviewed at a special open session on Wednesday, September 23. A vote on each will also take place that night. The term for both new members will run until the election in May 2010.
If you’re interested in applying for a position on either (or both) of the committees, you need to submit a letter of interest to Superintendent Gobron by September 18. Candidates must be Southborough residents.
You can get more details in the following letters which will be distributed to parents later this week:
