Belmont Opens Process to Fill School Committee Vacancy

In a letter provided to Belmont Patch, the chairs of the Belmont School Committee and Belmont Board of Selectmen has begun the process to fill the vacancy on the School Committee by asking interested residents to submit "letters of interest" for consideration.  

The School Committee's Laurie Graham and Mark Paolillo from the Selectmen said they hope to meet with the candidates in an early morning joint meeting of the Board and Committee on Sept. 23 where they will vote to fill the seat.

According to the letter, they note that Pascha Griffiths submitted her resignation effective Aug. 13 from the Belmont School Committee for personal reasons, leaving an eight-month vacancy on the School Committee. 

State law calls for public notice of such a vacancy followed by an appointment to fill the position through a joint vote of a quorum of the Board of Selectmen and the remaining School Committee members. 

This appointment will be until the annual Town Election in April 2014. On the April ballot there will be an open, one-year term, to fill out the remaining term of this seat. 

The School Committee and Board of Selectmen have agreed to a process that allows time for citizens to receive notification of the vacancy as well as to apply for consideration as an appointed candidate. 

The appointee must be a citizen of Belmont, 18 years or older.

The Board of Selectmen and School Committee are asking for “letters of interest” from candidates which should include:

• Reasons for seeking the appointment,
• Expertise, skills and perspectives they will bring to the Committee, and
• Identification of the most pressing issues facing the School Committee, both through the April election and beyond.

A suggested length is one to two pages.

Letters can be emailed to the Cathy Grant in the Superintendent’s office, cgrant@belmont.k12.ma.us with "School Committee Vacancy" in the subject line; an email acknowledgement will be sent to the candidate. 

Paper letters may be delivered or mailed to: Cathy Grant, Belmont Public Schools, 644 Pleasant St., Belmont, MA 02478.  

Copies of the letters will be distributed as soon as possible to members of both the respective boards for review.

The deadline for receipt of letters is Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 4 p.m. 

The two boards will meet jointly on Sept. 23 at 8 a.m. in the Selectmen’s Meeting Room, Town Hall to interview applicants and to vote to appoint a new member of the School Committee. If necessary an additional, joint meeting will be convened to complete this process. 

The appointee will begin duties by being sworn in at the Town Clerk’s Office prior to the School Committee meeting on Sept. 24.

We look forward to receiving letters of interest from a wide cross-section of Belmont residents interested in joining the committee in our work providing excellence in educational outcomes for all Belmont students and our stewardship of town resources.

Please feel free to direct any questions about School Committee service to any member of the committee. In addition, interested candidates are encouraged to make an appointment to meet, one-on-one, with Belmont School Superintendent Dr. Thomas Kingston if they wish. 

Committee contact information can be found at http://www.belmont/k12.ma.us/sc/members. To make an appointment with Dr. Kingston, please contact Grant at 617 993-5401.