Block Island Times

School Committee race needs candidates

Come Tuesday, November 3, the School Committee will have four open seats, but, so far, only two declared candidates.
Current committee members Annie Hall and Jessica Willi are running for additional three-year terms, but longtime Chair Bill Padien’s retirement from the board, and member Kara Stinnett’s resignation, leaves two seats without candidates.
There are two ways for those seats to be filled. A resident can declare themselves a write-in candidate, or an individual can submit a letter to the Town Council expressing an interest in serving on the board. That person can be appointed to the committee without having to run.
According to Town Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick, the seat now held by Padien can only be filled by a write-in candidate, because that is an elected position. The seat vacated by Stinnett can only be filled by the Town Council because Stinnett was not up for re-election this year. The preferred method to fill that non-elected seat is for someone to write a letter to the council declaring their interest, but if no one steps forward, the council could appoint someone on its own.
There are no deadlines for when either the write-in candidate or the appointed committee

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