Region One school board representative to remain an elected position in Sharon

SHARON —  The selectmen were split two-to-one about the idea, proposed by Howard Randall, of making the Region One Board of Education representative for the town an elected position.

In a letter to the board, Randall wrote that making the representative an elected position would “. . . ensure accountability to the town as well as to the school board.� Randall requested the change be made as soon as possible in order to ensure that both political parties would have time to pick candidates for the general election in November.

“I think that the taxpayers should have the right to say who goes and who doesn’t,� Randall said at the selectmen’s meeting May 29. “Although I’m sure that if we had an election [current representative Judge Manning] would probably win.�

First Selectman Malcolm Brown said state statute does not prohibit a town  from allowing the school representative to be an appointed position. In Region One, the towns of Salisbury, Falls Village and North Canaan elect their representative to the regional board; Sharon, Kent and Cornwall have appointed representatives.

The regional board oversees the high school, the central office and the regionwide pupil services department.

“In smaller communities a school board might be better able to pick and choose a representative that has good experience with education,� Brown said. “Whereas if you had an elected field, you get into this whole thing with Republicans running and Democrats running and you end up with someone who doesn’t know much about it.�

Manning, who also serves as chairman of the Sharon Board of Education, was present at the meeting along with Region One Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain.

Brown and Selectman Tom Bartram both agreed the position should be appointed. Selectman John Mathews disagreed.

“I think that [having an elected representative] would open up the process,� Mathews said. “I don’t think this would be a negative thing. It wouldn’t be too hard to generate candidates.�

Brown said making the school board representative into an elected position would create a “disruption.�

“I think we already have a volunteer who works long and hard who has a great deal of expertise,� Brown said. “I’m not in favor of any disruption, especially if it means going through any legal hurdles that might be required.�

Mathews made a motion for Town Attorney Judith Dixon to create an ordinance to be voted on at a town meeting to make the representative an elected position. The motion was voted down by Brown and Bartram.

Manning has served as the town’s Region One school board representative since 2001. He was elected as the board’s chairman in 2005. He was last appointed to the board in 2008 and his term is scheduled to expire in 2010.