October 29, 2004
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Joseph Gillis Jr.
You can do something!
From the Bridgewater Raynham Regional School Agreement (amended April 1999)
I-E Vacancies
If a vacancy occurs among the members elected under subsections I-D acting jointly, the Selectmen and the remaining Committee members from the town concerned shall within thirty (30) days appoint a member to serve until the next election, at which time a successor shall be elected to serve for the balance of the unexpired term, if any.
Lots of questions from lots of people, in a very short period of time.
First off, this process have been used before - most recently when making an interim appointment of Mark Oliari. The point of many of the people:
(a) As made clear through the past couple of elections for Regional School Committee, the person is chosen based on a total vote of the community - Raynham and Bridgewater.
(b) That the Regional School Committee members represent the entire community - Bridgewater and Raynham
So, the question goes... why is the decision on an interim appointment made with only the input of some of the representatives? Why not representatives from both communities?
I believe that this is a valid question, and one that should be addressed by the School Committee. However, a rule is a rule, and it should be followed to resolve this vacancy. The proper action is then to discuss this section of the Regional Agreement, and determine if it should be maintained or modified.
