Griffiths Resigns From School Committee

Pascha Griffiths, who is in her first term on the Belmont School Committee, has announced her resignation from the committee to Belmont Patch today, Thursday, Aug. 15.

"Yes, it's true, I have resigned from School Committee," Griffiths wrote in an e-mail to Belmont Patch. Her resignation letter has been submitted to Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman.

If the committee follows precedence, the School Committee and Belmont Board of Selectmen will follow state law and will vote in a joint meeting to fill the remaining two years of Griffiths' term after an appointment process which will begin with “letters of interest” from potential candidates. 

In October 2011, Anne Lougee was selected from four applicants to fill the final six months of Karen Parmett's term. Interestingly, Griffith was one of the applicants.

Griffiths said "very important personal matters" is requiring her immediate care  and given the committee's intense schedule and requirements to the position, "I stepped down so that the School Committee can appoint another qualified committed volunteer who can contribute his or her strengths to the team."

"I am so grateful for the incredible experience of serving on our Town's School Committee. The Committee members and School Department are individually and corporately an amazing and brilliant group of dedicated public servants and I sincerely admire each one. It has been an honor and privilege to work side-by-side with this team and serve our Town and Belmont's schools," said Griffiths.

Griffiths was elected to the School Committee by placing second in the 2012 town election in April, receiving 2,708 votes to join Anne Lougee (with 2,894 votes) as full-term committee members. 

A Mount Holyoke graduate, Griffiths was a teacher for 16 years and a leader of educational programs. Within the past three years, she has been involved with the Gates Foundation and with the Ashoka Foundation’s Empathy Initiative.

During her tenure on the board, Griffiths focused on school curriculum.