Hopkinton School Committee Meets To Announce Two Vacancies

HOPKINTON, MA - The Hopkinton School Committee held a brief special meeting Friday evening to discuss the process for replacing two School Committee members who resigned earlier this week.

It was held on the second anniversary of the school system being shut down due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Members Meg Tyler and Joe Markey turned in their resignation papers to the Town Clerk's office a few days ago. Both had been cleared of any wrongdoing on Feb. 15 after a complaint was filed by a resident on Jan. 31 against them, accusing them of having violated open meeting law by holding a Zoom with a School Committee candidate. Because there was no quorum of members present, they were exonerated after an investigation conducted by Superintendent Carol Cavanaugh.

At the meeting, Chair Nancy Cavanaugh said she received word of the dual resignations on Tuesday afternoon at 5:30 p.m. via an email from Town Clerk Connor Degan, which was also sent to the superintendent, Tyler and fellow committee member Lya Batlle-Rafferty.

"The first step here is to just for us to publicly announce that there are vacancies on the committee," she said, noting this is the first time the district has undergone this process. "This just clears the way for the path ahead in filling the vacancies."

No vote was required at this meeting to announce the vacancy posting.

She added that the Select Board is holding a special meeting Saturday morning at 11 a.m. to discuss how to fill those seats. They will decide if there is enough time for the positions to be put on the ballot for the May 16 annual town election.

"Anything in general that has something to do either with a Town Meeting or a town election has to go through the Select Board," the chair explained. "They are the driving body behind that.

"I, for one, was not aware that we would have vacancies to be filled this week," she continued. "I do want to wish our colleagues well - our former colleagues well - in their endeavors ahead."

When the body convenes for its regular meeting on Thursday, Nancy Cavanaugh expressed hope that the School Committee would be able to "focus on the work ahead and the important business we have of running our schools."

School Committee terms are for three years. Markey's seat would have been on the ballot in May 2023, while Tyler's position comes up for election in May 2024.

"There could potentially be three different seats on the ballot for the spring," Nancy Cavanaugh said.

If it is determined by the Select Board that the openings can be placed on the ballot, candidates would have to run for a particular seat. Seats would not be won by the top three vote-getters because each of them would have a different term length.

Alternatively, the Select Board could appoint alternates for the two seats until next year's election.

If the Select Board decides to appoint members for the rest of the terms, the start period would not begin until at least the end of March. If the Select Board appoints temporary members, they would serve starting at the end of March until mid-May.

"I think a lot of people are hoping that this will be able to get on the ballot this May," said the chair, "so that the voters have their voices heard on how they want things to move forward for us."

Batlle-Rafferty asked that, if people were appointed but there were no contenders for the open seats in the May election if there would need to be a second appointment for the vacancies. The chair said she had not considered that nor discussed this with Degan.

Nancy Cavanaugh thanked Degan publicly for his guidance in this unusual situation.

She added that an appointment would take place in a joint meeting of the Select Board and the School Committee.

"For the people in the public, I know this has generated a lot of public interest," Nancy Cavanaugh said. "But I just want to make sure that people know that there are provisions in the [Massachusetts] General Laws as well as in our Town Charter, and that we will continue with the business of the schools. There will not be an interruption in our commitment to making sure that our students and our schools are running smoothly."

Member Amanda Fargiano clarified that, as of now, a quorum would consist of two of the three members present at the meeting.

She added her gratitude toward Markey and Tyler for their service. She and Tyler both ran for their seats together almost four years ago and were reelected together last May.

"I think that what I want to echo is that anyone that lasted these two years on any of these boards has done above and beyond what you expect to do when you are elected to these positions," Batlle-Rafferty added, noting the pandemic anniversary. "I'm really grateful for everyone who has been here, for all of the work we've done, and for seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

"I really hope that Joe and Meg will now have some time to decompress from all of that."

This article originally appeared on the Holliston-Hopkinton Patch